North Korean leader Kim Jong-un calls K-pop a 'vicious cancer'
Its state media warned that if these “anti-socialist” influences are left unchecked, it would make North Korea “crumble like a damp wall.”
Popular K-Pop boy band BTS. (Photo: AFP/ABC)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has accused K-pop of corrupting the youth of his country. Labelling it a “vicious cancer”, Kim imposed harsher penalties on citizens who are consuming South Korean movies, K-dramas and K-pop videos.
The New York Times detailed the secretive anti K-pop campaign that came to light via leaked internal documents from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The news was first reported by the Seoul-based new source Daily NK.
The state media has slammed the spread of “anti-socialist” influence, which has reportedly altered the “attire, hairstyles, speeches, behaviours” of young North Koreans. Kim has ordered his government to crack down on these anti-socialist dispositions.
Kim introduced a series of new laws in December that enforces stricter punishment for watching or possessing South Korean entertainment from five years of hard labour to 15 years in a labour camp.
North Korean state media warned that if these influences are left unchecked, it would make North Korea “crumble like a damp wall.” Those caught smuggling South Korean content are at risk of receiving even harsher punishments, including the death penalty.
