North Korea Executes 80 People For Watching Foreign TV Shows – Report

Around 80
people were
earlier this month publicly executed in North Korea
for watching smuggled South Korean TV shows, a
South Korean newspaper reported Monday.
The conservative JoongAng Ilbo cited a single,
unidentified source, but at least one North Korean
defector group said it had heard rumours that lent
credibility to the front-page report.
The source, said to be "familiar" with the North's
internal affairs and recently returned from the
country, said the executions were carried out in
seven cities on November 3.
In the eastern port of Wonsan, the authorities
gathered 10,000 people in a sports stadium to
watch the execution of eight people by firing
squad, the source quoted one eyewitness as
saying.
Most were charged with watching illicit South
Korean TV dramas, and some with prostitution.
Several of the cities, including Wonsan and
Pyongsong in the west, have been designated as
special economic zones aimed at attracting foreign
investment to boost the North's moribund
economy.
The Seoul-based news website, Daily NK, which is
run by North Korean defectors and has a wide
network of sources, said it had no information on
the executions.
But another defector-run website, North Korea
Intellectual Solidarity, said its sources had reported
several months ago on plans for a wave of public
executions.
"The regime is obviously afraid of potential
changes in people's mindsets and is pre-emptively
trying to scare people off," said one website
official.
Watching unsanctioned foreign films or TV –
especially those from the capitalist South – is a
serious offence in North Korea.
However, efforts to control their distribution have
been circumvented by technology, with an
increasing number of foreign films and TV shows
being smuggled in on DVDs, flash drives and mp3
players.
As well as South Korean soap operas, US shows like
Desperate Housewives are believed to have a small
but avid following, despite the fact that watching
the show is punishable by death.