SEOUL — After North Korea recently sent thousands of waste-filled balloons to South Korea, activists here responded with airborne deliveries that the regime up north might find even more despicable than garbage: K-pop and K-dramas. In recent years, South Korean culture has flourished globally, with K-pop groups selling out stadiums, K-dramas dominating streaming platforms, and K-beauty and K-fashion industries booming. But consuming foreign media is an offense in North Korea, and in 2020, Pyongyang adopted a law specifically cracking down on K-pop and other South Korean cultural content, media in the South reported. AdvertisementFreedom House, a Washington-based pro-democracy think tank and watchdog, gives North Korea a 3 out of 100 rating for civil liberties and political rights. And balloons filled with South Korean culture might only serve to highlight that division.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 07, 2024 14:12 UTC