Watching foreign videos, that is. From the Daily NK:
North Korean authorities in Chongjin, North Hamgyong province, staged a large scale public criticism session last month targeting nine young people in their 20s who were arrested for watching and distributing foreign videos.
A source in North Hamgyong province told Daily NK on Tuesday that the nine young people, all from Sinam neighborhood in Chongjin’s Sinam district, were accused of gathering in groups to watch and circulate South Korean videos along with what the source described as capitalist films from Europe and China. The source said the public criticism session was held on Aug. 18, led by judicial authorities, and drew a large crowd of Chongjin residents.
According to the source, the young people had gathered at a secret location in July to watch South Korean films and other foreign videos when they were caught in a surprise raid by the city’s Ministry of Social Security…. Officers searched the homes of each young person involved and found a large number of portable storage devices containing foreign videos. Family members were also summoned to the Ministry of Social Security for questioning about whether they had watched the videos or taken part in distributing them.
Judging the case to be especially serious, city judicial authorities decided to hold a public criticism session featuring the nine young people. Officials revealed that the group had watched not only South Korean films and news broadcasts but also a large volume of European and Chinese films containing capitalist elements, and that some videos had been passed on to others. Authorities described the conduct as “the most serious and grave anti-socialist act that shakes the very foundation of the system.”…
During the session, other young people reportedly took turns publicly denouncing the nine defendants. Once the proceedings ended, the nine young people who had been made to stand before the crowd were escorted back to the Ministry of Social Security.
Where a grim fate awaits them. And their families too, no doubt.
The hysterical reaction by the authorities shows how terrified they are of ideological contamination, ie any cultural content that doesn’t tow the Kim worship line. They’re fighting a losing battle – but that’s little comfort to these poor youths.
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