This weekend, an article published by a North Korean propaganda site accused K-pop record companies of engaging in “slave exploitation” of successful bands like BTS and Blackpink.
The article on the Arirang Meari site in North Korea claimed that K-pop artists were “bound to incredibly unfair contracts from a young age, held in training and treated like slaves after being stripped of body, mind and soul by vicious and corrupt rulers. conglomerates related to art. “
North Korea has long been accused of large-scale human rights abuses, including subjecting political prisoners to forced labor and conditions bordering on slavery, landmark 2014 UN report says .
The article was likely part of a push by North Korean propagandists to crack down on foreign media. While Pyongyang’s strict censorship apparatus severely restricts the movies, music, television, newspapers, and books its citizens can consume, technology has made it easier to smuggle content from overseas, especially to USB sticks.
Defectors claim that average North Koreans caught consuming foreign content, especially from South Korea and the United States, are often severely punished. Such laws have historically not deterred people from doing so, but the situation may be changing.
Although Kim’s regime has long cracked down on people who view or read foreign documents, the North Korean lawmaker passed a new law in December obliging citizens and organizations to prevent the “spread of anti-socialist ideology” – in practice, refers to any content that has not been approved by government censors.
Kim also suggested in February that tighter controls on societal content may be on the way. He called for a “struggle more intense than ever against anti-socialist and non-socialist practices”.
Musical Divergence on the Korean Peninsula
Despite centuries of shared culture, music in communist North Korea and capitalist South Korea has evolved very differently since the peninsula was split into two political entities after World War II.
Music in North Korea, on the other hand, is an important part of daily life and serves as a key propaganda tool, praising the ruling Kim family and their struggle against imperial aggression.
North Korea’s monopoly on creative expression makes state songs – and therefore their endorsed messages – particularly ubiquitous.
CNN’s Oscar Holland contributed to this report.
