# 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:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**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 26, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/21 "2021-11-26T17:59:05Z")
I read an article (from Cracked, so take it with the necessary grain of salt) about an incident where a South Korean high schooler (or college student) with socialist ideals defected to North Korea and the NK authorities thought this was a great propaganda coup, so they got her on stage in front of an NK audience and she delivered a fiery speech blasting the South and praising the North. Problem is, the NK audience noticed how comparatively plump she was and how nice her shoes and clothes were, and got an entirely different takeaway message that day. ---
**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, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/22 "2021-11-26T18:37:15Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > 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. This seems to be [a common theme with totalitarian regimes](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/hotel-dallas-shows-how-tv-865438/). > _Dallas_ was the only U.S. TV show to air in Romania during the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu. Apparently, the dictator thought the over-the-top portrayals of Texas cutthroat capitalism would remind his subjects how good they had it in the communist state. > Instead, the show became a hit and its stars folk heroes. If you believe the hype, _Dallas_ helped inspire the 1989 Romanian revolution that toppled Ceausescu. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/23 "2021-11-26T21:14:14Z")
There ought to be a charity that allows one to contribute toward those balloons they send into North Korea carrying contraband. I would be pleased to get a card, “Sixteen copies of Squid Game have been deposited in the PDRK in You Name.” ---
**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 26, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/24 "2021-11-26T23:31:23Z")
Unfortunately some North Koreans getting their hands on the contraband could get executed or imprisoned for that. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2021, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953/25 "2021-11-27T18:45:02Z")
Yes, the government in North Korea kills people. Taking them down will not be bloodless. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-by-firing-squad-after-smuggling-squid-games-into-north-korea/954953.md?page=1)