The North Korean regime relies on a system of extreme isolation, indoctrination and brutal repression to maintain absolute control of 25 million citizens. Foreign media like South Korean dramas and Hollywood films pose a threat to the regime’s narrative and are considered illegal. Something as simple as watching or distributing this media can be punished by public execution, which is typically done by firing squad or hanging. Local people are usually required to attend and watch, but some defectors have said they believed the people who were executed deserved so because of how their crimes were portrayed. In 2013, it was reported that 80 people were executed for watching foreign movies, possessing Bibles, and other minor offenses. At one execution, eight people were brought into a local stadium with their heads covered in white bags – they were shot by a firing squad as thousands of onlookers were forced to watch.

Learn more at: www.libertyinnorthkorea.org/advocate

Written & Directed by Twin Taoers
Produced by Evolve Studios