Firing squad awaits the man who brought the series into the country, while students face prison and labor sentences for watching.
North Korea is reportedly set to execute a man by firing squad for smuggling the popular Netflix series Squid Game into the country, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA). The man allegedly brought the series from China and sold USB drives containing the episodes to North Korean citizens. His execution, a result of the severe crackdown on illicit foreign media, is reportedly scheduled to take place soon.
In addition to the smuggler’s fate, several students involved in watching the show face severe consequences. One high schooler who purchased a USB drive with Squid Game has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Six other students who watched the show have been handed five-year sentences of hard labor.
The series, which portrays desperate people in debt playing life-threatening children’s games for a huge cash prize, has resonated with North Koreans, many of whom see parallels with their own struggles. The drama’s widespread appeal in the country prompted a series of arrests, after students shared the USB drive containing the series.
A detailed report from RFA revealed how the students were caught. After one student watched the show, the news spread, and others shared the USB, leading to their detection by government censors from the Surveillance Bureau Group 109, who had received a tip-off.
