Harrowing reports have exposed the petty reasons behind executions in North Korea, where citizens are killed for crimes as minor as listening to pop music or dozing off in the presence of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.
Executions for Minor Offenses
A farm manager was executed after all the baby terrapins at a state-run facility died. Sources said he was shot dead shortly after Kim berated officials during a visit. In some of the most shocking cases, inmates were killed in secret 'indoor executions' using blunt weapons, while others were shot by firing squads.
High-Profile Cases
Among the most notorious cases, North Korea's Defence Minister Hyon Yong-chol was executed for showing disloyalty, according to South Korea's spy agency. MPs were told he was killed in 2015 by anti-aircraft fire in front of hundreds after falling asleep during an event attended by Kim and failing to carry out orders. A senior military officer was also said to have been executed.
Cultural Crackdown
The death penalty has been imposed for making a phone call to South Korea. A video shows a public shaming session in a large auditorium, where scores of young North Koreans are lined up in front of military men and berated for their 'crimes'. Local residents are sometimes forced to watch gruesome public executions used as a warning against trying to escape.
According to testimony reported by Daily NK, a 49-year-old stage lighting engineer was executed after being caught contacting someone across the border, with his death used as a warning to others. His family was then imprisoned.
The regime's sweeping crackdown on culture and religion is evident in other cases. The head of the Unhasu Orchestra, a group that once performed internationally, was arrested and executed for allegedly violating pornography laws. A 33-year-old Christian woman, Ri Hyon Ok, was publicly executed for distributing the Bible, with her family sent to a political prison camp the following day, according to activist groups.
Impact on Youth
New testimony gathered by Amnesty International suggests even schoolchildren are being executed, jailed, or publicly humiliated for watching South Korean TV or listening to K-pop. Defectors said consuming hugely popular dramas such as Crash Landing on You, Descendants of the Sun, or Squid Game can bring the harshest punishments, including death, particularly for those without money or connections.
For decades, the regime has deployed a specialist unit known as the '109 Group' to crack down on foreign media, carrying out warrantless searches of homes, bags, and mobile phones. Fifteen interviewees across multiple regions told Amnesty the unit operates nationwide, pointing to a systematic effort to enforce the sweeping bans.
Public Executions as Terror
Witnesses described how public executions are used to terrorise entire communities into compliance. One defector, Choi Suvin, recalled seeing a man executed in Sinuiju in 2017 or 2018 after being accused of distributing foreign media. 'Authorities told everyone to go, and tens of thousands gathered to watch,' she said. 'They execute people to brainwash and educate us.'
Interviewees said newer South Korean content is now reaching North Korea faster than before, fuelling the crackdown. One escapee reported that after Squid Game was released in 2021, people, including high school students, were executed for watching it, a claim separately documented by Radio Free Asia in North Hamgyong Province. Together, the accounts suggest multiple executions linked to the shows across different regions.
Authorities have also targeted music, with interviewees saying K-pop, including songs by BTS, is heavily policed. In 2021, The Korea Times reported teenagers were punished for listening to the group.
New Report Details Extreme Punishments
Disturbing new details emerged of the extreme punishments meted out in North Korea, including prisoners beaten to death with a hammer and a pregnant woman executed. The accounts are laid bare in a new report by Transitional Justice Working Group, which maps executions across the secretive state and reveals how killings surged during the Covid pandemic. Images included in the report reveal the scale of the killings, showing suspected execution sites across North Korea including firing ranges near airports, football pitches, and remote fields. Execution methods vary by location, with many sites in built-up areas where gunfire would be heard, making the use of blunt instruments more likely.
North Korea dramatically increased executions during the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly for consuming South Korean dramas, K-pop, and other foreign culture and political offences, a report published Tuesday showed.
