Key facts
- North Koreans are secretly consuming K-pop despite severe penalties, including public executions.
- Groups like BTS and Blackpink have gained popularity, with BTS's name entering everyday slang.
- Accessing South Korean content is a crime that can lead to detention or worse.
- A survey found 98% of defectors watched South Korean dramas or films while in North Korea.
- The spread of K-pop influences youth culture, fashion, and self-expression, which the regime fears.
Despite stringent government control and severe penalties, South Korean K-pop has found its way into North Korea, influencing its youth and challenging the regime's isolationist policies. Defectors share accounts of secretly listening to K-pop, with groups like BTS becoming particularly popular, even influencing everyday slang.
Lee Yeon-su, a defector now living in South Korea, attends BTS concerts, finding joy in supporting artists by her own free will, a freedom unimaginable in her native North Korea. Growing up in a military family, she was taught to view the South as an enemy, but music eventually broke through her resistance.
Other defectors confirm K-pop's penetration into the North, describing secret listening sessions and even watching performances, though often without knowing the artists' names. Hannah Oh, a defector, noted that the system in North Korea is designed to have only one celebrity, Kim Jong Un, but K-pop idols have emerged as alternatives.
Kang Gyu-ri, who fled in 2023, recalls being captivated by BTS's song 'Dynamite' and the visual shock of K-pop idols with colorful hair and makeup. She notes that learning signature dance moves, like those from Teen Top, became a trend among teenagers.
The risk associated with consuming South Korean media is high. Hannah Oh recounts carrying two SD cards, one with music and another blank one to hand over if caught. Schools would hold public criticism sessions for students caught watching South Korean content, warning of juvenile detention.
Despite these crackdowns, the allure of the outside world, glimpsed through K-culture, persists. A 2023 survey indicated that 98% of defectors had watched South Korean dramas or films, with about 80% reporting increased curiosity and influence on their speech and fashion. This expression of individuality is seen as a threat to the regime's demand for collective conformity.