A North Korean man has reportedly been given the death penalty for allegedly bringing Squid Game into the nation. As per a statement from Radio Free Asia, the North Korean is reported to have been sold flash drives of Netflix’s big hit show by an individual who allegedly carried a version of it into the country. The aforementioned United States charity is recognized for its prior coverage of China.
According to Korean law enforcement, a high schooler “secretly acquired” a Squid Game-contained flash disk and watched the series with a friend. According to the source, were informed of this by his friend. The pupils have eventually apprehended thanks to a tip-off.
Furthermore, according to the BBC, the flash drives’ suspected smuggler isn’t the only one to have been sentenced. Six persons who watched the show were sentenced to five years of hard labor after being sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in the case. According to RFA, several teachers and school administrators have also been laid off. A firing squad is expected to be used to put an end to the accused smuggler’s life.
The news outlet alleges that some were spared “punishment” because of bribes of $3,000 from their wealthy parents.
“Residents are complaining that the world is unfair because if parents have money and power, even their children who are sentenced to death can be released,” They said.
“The residents are all trembling in fear because they will be mercilessly punished for buying or selling memory storage devices, no matter how small,” they concluded.
According to the same RFA-cited source, this is the First time that the Elimination of Reactionary Thought and Culture statute has been utilized in a case involving minors. In the past year, the law has been mentioned in several publications about a bigger effort by the government to restrict specific content from entering the country.
This isn’t the first time that the South Korean program has been the subject of such measures, as the author and filmmaker Hwang Dong-hyuk just announced a second season. One of North Korea’s propaganda websites shared an essay critical of the series in October, per Reuters.