TV & Film

When people buy television sets in the DPRK, they have to register the television with a government authority. The DPRK also deploys sophisticated jamming equipment to block foreign television broadcasts.

As for movies and TV series, if they’re not made in North Korea then you basically shouldn’t be watching them. Some people do manage to get copies of DVDs smuggled in from China or the South but risk penalties if caught. Some reported that officials would cut power to a residence before searching it so that the occupants couldn’t get the DVDs out of their players before the officials stormed in.

If you’re caught actually selling or trading DVDs you’re in much bigger trouble. One witness informed the Commission that, in 2008, a relative of hers had watched CD-roms from China and then gave the CD-roms to his friends. He was arrested by the local authorities and “tried” publicly, and eventually executed in Hoeryong.

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