Since 2021, the characteristics of the Hallyu phenomenon in North Korea can be summarised above all by crackdowns and control. Following the establishment of the “Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Disparagement Law” in December 2020, in June 2021, the “82 Unified Command” was established to conduct a total annihilation war against deviations from socialist ideology. Additionally, in September 2021, a “Youth Ideological Education Law” was enacted to eliminate anti-socialist and non-socialist ideologies emerging among the new generation, targeting young people who have become familiar with external influences and capitalist culture.
Amid intensified crackdowns and control by North Korean authorities, there have been incidents encouraging voluntary confessions. According to reports, tens of thousands of students in North Korea confessed en masse to authorities, admitting to secretly watching South Korean dramas and movies. As the enforcement and punishment for the distribution and viewing of South Korean content in the North became more stringent, individuals opted for confession through “self-reporting” as a means to receive lighter penalties. According to information from a North Korean news source, “At the end of last year, a directive containing the fact that tens of thousands of students in a city confessed to authorities for watching so-called ‘illegal recordings’ has recently been delivered to each city and provincial labor party committee,” and “the number of illegal recording devices (DVD players) they submitted amounted to over 5,000.” This indicates the acknowledgment of the act of watching South Korean content as a counter-socialist behavior.
Meanwhile, as the control measures to prevent the spread of the Hallyu wave by North Korean authorities intensified, there have been cases of severe punishment for soldiers who imitated the dance moves of South Korean singers. An individual, referred to as A, who is affiliated with the 9th Corps stationed in Ham Gyeongbuk-do, was reported to have been arrested by the corps security department. A was accused of dancing to BTS’s choreography during the ‘military cultural recreation time’ provided to boost the morale of the troops. During the investigation, A reportedly stated, ‘I don’t even know who BTS is. I just danced the dance I used to do in my hometown to boost the morale of the warriors.’ However, the corps security department accused A of making false statements and ultimately handed down a punishment of three months in a disciplinary cell.
North Korean authorities consider the inflow of all foreign cultures, including South Korean Hallyu, as ‘imperialist ideological and cultural infiltration’ and strictly control and regulate it. The enforcement and control in the border areas with North China, through which outside influences enter North Korea, are stringent, and the distribution within North Korea is also tightly restricted. However, the curiosity of North Korean residents about South Korea and their desire to access external information persist, even within the strict control of the North Korean authorities.