North Korean Youths Arrested for Secretly Watching "The Tyrant's Chef"... "Their Families Live in Fear"

Arrested Due to a Friend's Betrayal While Watching Together

"Afraid of Being Expelled to Another Region"

It has been reported that young people in North Korea were arrested by authorities for secretly watching the South Korean drama "The Tyrant's Chef."

According to a recent report from Daily NK Japan, a North Korea-focused media outlet, two young men in Pyongsong, South Pyongan Province, were arrested by the police (rather than by the state security agency) for secretly watching videos deemed "reactionary recordings" by North Korean authorities, including South Korean dramas.

The two arrested youths, who had been close since their student days, are known to have secretly watched imported South Korean dramas and other foreign videos for several years. In the middle of last month, they invited their close friend, referred to as "A," saying, "It would be a waste to watch this just by ourselves," and the three of them watched the drama together. The show they watched is reportedly known in North Korea as "The King's Chef," but is actually the South Korean drama "The Tyrant's Chef." This drama, which became a major hit in South Korea last year, features royal court cuisine and the romance of the main characters, and it is reportedly growing in popularity among North Korean youth through word of mouth.

However, the background to the two young men's arrest was A's betrayal. Fearing punishment, A agonized for several days before voluntarily going to the police, admitting his illegal actions and pleading for leniency. During this time, he also revealed his two friends' involvement in watching the video to the authorities. Subsequently, A agreed to cooperate with the police investigation, and at the end of last month, he invited the two friends again to watch the illegal video together. This time, police officers, who had been notified in advance, raided the location and caught all three in the act, arresting them on the spot.

A, who turned himself in, was released without significant punishment. However, the remaining two young men had their homes searched and are reportedly still under intensive investigation. Citing sources in North Korea, the media outlet reported that "the families of the two arrested individuals are afraid they might be forcibly expelled from relatively affluent Pyongsong to underdeveloped rural areas with poor living conditions."

Meanwhile, North Korea is ramping up crackdowns on the inflow of foreign culture such as South Korean dramas, films, and music. The regime is imposing harsh penalties on residents caught consuming South Korean content, citing the Law on Rejecting Reactionary Ideology and Culture and the Youth Education Guarantee Law. In 2024, the BBC in the United Kingdom reported, "In the past, punishments for such cases (such as watching South Korean dramas) were less than five years for minors on average, but in 2020, a law was enacted that imposes the death penalty for watching or distributing South Korean entertainment."

However, according to a report released in February by Amnesty International based on in-depth interviews with 25 North Korean escapees, the actual severity of punishments for watching South Korean content varies greatly depending on one's wealth and personal connections. For example, Mr. Kim Junsik (pseudonym), who was caught watching South Korean dramas three times before his escape, said that he avoided punishment thanks to his family's connections, adding, "If you have money at home, you get off with just a warning." However, during special crackdowns ordered by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, even bribes and connections reportedly offered no protection.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.