# Man reportedly sentenced to death by firing squad after smuggling ‘Squid Games’ into North Korea **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 25, 2021, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953 "2021-11-25T18:30:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/1 "2021-11-25T18:30:01Z")
I thought it was worth a mention for the meta-level irony. Life imitating social satire. May be in bad taste, but I’ll go ahead and make the obvious joke: I wonder if they’ll give him a chance to go free by playing Red Light / Green Light? Seriously though, I hope cooler heads prevail (not that North Korean leadership is known for that) and reduce or commute his sentence (assuming the story is actually true). > **[‘Squid Game’ Smuggler Sentenced to Death in North Korea After Students Caught...](https://variety.com/2021/politics/news/squid-game-north-korea-death-sentence-1235119064/)** > > A man who smuggled copies of smash hit South Korean Netflix series “Squid Game” into North Korea has been sentenced to death, after authorities caught high school students watching the … ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/2 "2021-11-25T18:55:33Z")
I would think the NK government ought to _encourage_ Squid Games viewing as portraying South Korea in a bad light. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/3 "2021-11-25T18:58:18Z")
This article is more detailed. > **[North Korean sentenced to death after students caught watching Squid Game](https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/squidgame-11232021180155.html)** > > Locals say rich parents were able to bribe authorities to spare a student from punishment. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/4 "2021-11-25T19:02:48Z")
Sheesh! It’s not like he was smuggling _Rules of Engagement_. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/5 "2021-11-25T19:15:03Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I would think the NK government ought to _encourage_ Squid Games viewing as portraying South Korea in a bad light. It is odd, when you think about it— why does North Korea have their panties in a bunch over it? It’s the ultimate satirical condemnation of Capitalism: a bunch of disadvantaged people fighting to the death so one person can win the entirety of a huge pot of money- literally becoming the 1% (I know, less than that even, mathematically). And the whole thing run by and for the enjoyment of rich plutocrats. It can’t be the show’s violence they condemn, because killing a man by firing squad seems a counterproductive message to that. Must just be a case of “Western Capitalist Culture bad”. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/6 "2021-11-25T19:33:10Z")
> [@solost](#): > > It is odd, when you think about it— why does North Korea have their panties in a bunch over it? It’s the ultimate satirical condemnation of Capitalism: a bunch of disadvantaged people fighting to the death so one person can win the entirety of a huge pot of money- literally becoming the 1% (I know, less than that even, mathematically). And the whole thing run by and for the enjoyment of rich plutocrats. That may not be what it looks like to people in North Korea. Maybe they’re seeing not a condemnation specifically of capitalism, but a condemnation in general of pitting disadvantaged people against each other at the risk of death for the benefit of a priviledged few. Which is how tyrants in general stay in power; whatever their financial systems. From the article linked in the OP: > Sources in that report said that the show’s dystopian world – in which marginalized people are pitted against one another in traditional children’s games for huge cash prizes and losing players are put to death – resonates with North Koreans in risky occupations and insecure positions. > [. . .] > rumors are circulating that among the seven arrested students, one with rich parents was able to avoid punishment because they bribed the authorities with U.S. $3,000,” the second source said. > > “Residents are complaining that the world is unfair because if parents have money and power even their children who are sentenced to death can be released.” ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/7 "2021-11-25T19:46:45Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > From the article linked in the OP: > > > Sources in that report said that the show’s dystopian world – in which marginalized people are pitted against one another in traditional children’s games for huge cash prizes and losing players are put to death – resonates with North Koreans in risky occupations and insecure positions. Guess I should have done a better job reading my own linked article 😊 ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/8 "2021-11-25T19:53:03Z")
Because of this: > [@](#): > > In December 2020, North Korea passed the “Elimination of Reactionary Thought and Culture” act, which prohibits the entry and dissemination of cultural material like films, plays, music and books in the country. The act is mainly aimed at preventing the spread of media from [South Korea](https://variety.com/t/south-korea/) and the U.S. and those found distributing or consuming these are liable to be punished. Smuggling things into North Korea? The article didn’t tell me what country the smuggler came from, but it sounds like he might be North Korean. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/9 "2021-11-25T20:09:04Z")
I don’t think it has anything to do with the specific TV show. ALL South Korean culture and entertainment is banned in the North, with severe consequences if you’re caught smuggling it in. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/10 "2021-11-25T20:27:43Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Sheesh! It’s not like he was smuggling _Rules of Engagement_ . Or ‘The Interview’. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/11 "2021-11-25T20:43:31Z")
> [@Kimera757](#): > > The article didn’t tell me what country the smuggler came from The second article two posts further down writes it was China. It also says: > “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 source in law enforcement in North Hamgyong province told RFA’s Korean Service Monday. Say what you want about North Korea’s justice system: Fast they are. (Bolding mine, evidently) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/12 "2021-11-25T20:44:25Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Say what you want about North Korea’s justice system: Fast they are. (Bolding mine, evidently) - Doesn’t take long to consider you automatically guilty. Appeals only take as long as you need to write a check. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/13 "2021-11-25T20:55:54Z")
I hate the smell of Poe’s Law in the evening. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/14 "2021-11-25T20:57:58Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Say what you want about North Korea’s justice system: Fast they are. (Bolding mine, evidently) The thing is, that sort of thing happens all the time. I’ve heard about those USB drive drops a lot. It’s a pretty common contraband item, which might be why a student could easily find one. So I do suspect that the nature of the content may have mattered, too. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/15 "2021-11-25T23:09:19Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Guess I should have done a better job reading my own linked article I’ve missed things in my own links occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/16 "2021-11-26T11:29:02Z")
Likely a BS story. Like so many on N Korea before. > **[North Korea: Fake news on both sides is the norm – DW – 06/04/2019](https://www.dw.com/en/north-korea-fake-news-on-both-sides-is-the-norm/a-49042595)** > > Stories of the secretive state captivate media and audiences alike. But often the stories are only half true, sometimes outright false — especially those coming from a particular South Korean source. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/17 "2021-11-26T13:26:07Z")
> [@solost](#): > > It is odd, when you think about it— why does North Korea have their panties in a bunch over it? Aside from their general distain for any outside cultural influences, there’s also the specific issue that one of the main characters is a defector from NK, who at one point tells the story of her father being killed, and who is risking her life in part to earn enough money to get her mother out of NK. So, “NK is so bad it’s worth risking death entertaining rich assholes to get out of NK.” Not hard to see why NK might disapprove of that message. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/18 "2021-11-26T14:19:30Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > there’s also the specific issue that one of the main characters is a defector from NK, who at one point tells the story of her father being killed, and who is risking her life in part to earn enough money to get her mother out of NK. Right, I had forgotten that plot line, good call. That alone is plenty enough to get NK’s panties bunched up. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/19 "2021-11-26T16:36:15Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Likely a BS story. I do have to say, I take all these North Korean stories with a hefty, hefty grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/20 "2021-11-26T17:50:03Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I would think the NK government ought to _encourage_ Squid Games viewing as portraying South Korea in a bad light. I recall reading an article by a north Korean defector about how the news in north Korea used to post videos of riots in the south. it was designed to make North Koreans feel the south was dystopian, but him and everyone else he knew was too busy watching how big the buildings in the south were and how many cars they had, and how healthy everyone looked instead. it is probably on part the same with squid games. even the poor in south Korea live like kings compared to the average north korean. they’ll probably be busty watching all the cars and food if they watch it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953.md?page=2)