Student sentenced to death for

A man has been sentenced to death for smuggling copies of ‘Squid Game’ into North Korea. Image: SquidGame/Netflix/YouTube

Student sentenced to death for smuggling ‘Squid Game’ into North Korea

Residents in North Korea are trembling in fear after a student was sentenced to death for smuggling ‘Squid Game’ into the country.

Student sentenced to death for

A man has been sentenced to death for smuggling copies of ‘Squid Game’ into North Korea. Image: SquidGame/Netflix/YouTube

The North Korean government has sentenced a man to death after he allegedly smuggled and sold copies of the Netflix series Squid Game to high school students.

Man sentenced to death for smuggling ‘Squid Game’ into North Korea

According to various reports such as The Mail Online, the smuggler, a student, is said to have returned from China with a digital version of the popular South Korean series stored on a hidden USB flash drive.

But after selling copies to several people including fellow students he was caught by the government’s strike force that specialises in catching illegal video watchers, known officially as Surveillance Bureau Group 109. It is believed that the arrests took place in the country’s North Hamgyongprovince which borders China.

It is understood he will now be executed by firing squad.

Radio Free Asia reported that six other students who watched the show have been sentenced to five years of hard labour.

A very strict ban on material form the West and South Korea

This comes as North Korea has a strict ban on material from the West and South Korea being allowed into the country. Officials are now carrying out searches at the students’ schools to find any more foreign media.

Some teachers are said to have been fired or could face being banished to work in remote mines as punishment.

“This all started last week when a high school student secretly bought a USB flash drive containing the South Korean drama Squid Game and watched it with one of his best friends in class,” a law enforcement source told the publication. 

The source said the pair discussed the series with friends who became interested and bought copies from him.

Elimination of Reactionary Thought and Culture

The arrest of the students marks the first time that the government is applying the newly passed law on the “Elimination of Reactionary Thought and Culture” in a case involving minors, according to the source.

The law carries a maximum penalty of death for watching, keeping, or distributing media from capitalist countries, particularly from South Korea and the United States. 

The source added the government was taking the incident “very seriously”.

“The Central Committee has dismissed the school principal, their youth secretary, and their homeroom teacher”, it states further.