Kim Chen In
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called K-pop a “malignant tumor” that corrupts young people. Reported by The New York Times.
According to him, this “tumor” corrupts “the clothes, hairstyles, speeches, behavior of young North Koreans.”
According to the publication, in recent months, the North Korean leader and state media have “scolded” South Korean films, videos and K-pop every day.
Earlier in May, the Daily Mirror reported that Kim Jong-un fears expressions of self-expression and individualism among North Korean youth, which could eventually lead to the overthrow of the country's established regime. In this regard, he outlawed skinny jeans and ripped jeans, “anti-socialist” hairstyles will be seen as signs of a threat to the social order.
Previously, the DPRK accused the South Korean music industry of slavish exploitation of artists. A North Korean internet portal stated that K-pop artists, including members of popular groups BTS and Blackpink, are allegedly forced into submission and harsh labor from an early age through unfair contracts. CNN suggests that this material is an attempt by propagandists to counter the influence of foreign media.
On February 16, it became known that North Korea has increased the maximum penalty for the import and distribution of South Korean video materials. Now the death penalty can be threatened for this.