Leaked footage from North Korea reveals sentencing of two teens to 12 years of labor for watching South Korean dramas

A leaked video obtained by the South and North Development Institute (SAND), a research organization working with North Korean defectors, captured the moment that two teenage boys were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for watching South Korean dramas.

The footage is believed to have been filmed in 2022 at an amphitheater at Pyeongyang Youth Park. It shows police officers handcuffing two 16-year old boys while hundreds of students watch from their seats. A narrator is heard saying, "Lee XX and Moon XX, who watched and distributed films, TV dramas, and 20 music videos originating from the puppet state in the South, have each been sentenced to 12 years of labor education." 

The narrator continued, "The corrupt and decadent culture has spread even to school boys, turning the new generation into sacrificial victims of reactionary culture. They are just 16 years old, at the beginning of their lives, but they were tempted by foreign culture, and without discretion, they ultimately ruined their own futures."

The families of the two boys have reportedly been expelled from Pyeongyang. Recently, North Korea has made attempts to strengthen punishment for offenses related to South Korean content. In 2020, the North Korean government enacted the 'Anti-Reactionary Thought Law', which stipulates penalties of up to 15 years in prison for viewers of South Korean content.

You can watch the leaked footage below.