North Koreans Watch TV (Photo : Getty Images)
With “Descendants of the Sun” and Song Joong-ki getting several awards because of the 16-episode Hallyu, it is not surprising that some North Koreans would also want to watch the TV series.
But if China’s strict censors allowed “Descendants of the Sun” to be aired via video streaming platform iQiyi, such was definitely not possible in North Korea. However, some brave North Koreans received smuggled DVDs and USBs containing selected South Korean TV shows.
Asia Times reported that when Pyongyang learnt of the activity, North Korean officials ordered a crackdown on the distribution of the smuggled items. According to 2015 report of the Korea Institute for National Unification, run by the South Korean government, some North Koreans were executed for watching and disseminating the DVDs and USBs.
However, Daily NK, which cited sources inside the communist country, reported that some citizens watch Hallyu or listen to Kpop music from South Korea as a way of relieving their stress and hardship amid high rate of poverty. Some North Koreans are risking their lives by watching smuggled episodes of “Descendants of the Sun,” the daily said.
Ironically, Express reported that while many North Koreans are famished and starving, the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has ballooned to 300 pounds and is seen frequently binge eating. Besides suffering from obesity, the 33-year-old dictator is also stressed and paranoid, according to South Korean intelligence report, which makes it understandable if he would hate a military drama like “Descendants of the Sun” that is set in a fictional war-torn country.
