North Korean Boy Sentenced To 14 Years In Prison For Watching Movie

A 14-year-old boy in North Korea has been arrested for allegedly watching a South Korean movie. The teenager was reportedly sentenced to 14 years of hard labor for watching the film.

"On the 7th, a 14-year-old student from Hyesan City's Elementary and Middle School (our middle school) was arrested while watching the South Korean (Korean) movie 'Mister,'" a source from the Yanggang Province told South Korea-based Daily NK on Tuesday. International Business Times could not independently verify this information.

The source said the boy did not even watch the full movie and was just five minutes into it when he was arrested. The child's parents could also face punishment if they are found guilty.

The boy's punishment, shocking as it is, is not uncommon in North Korea, where laws are kept in place to restrict foreign influence. A legal document obtained by Daily NK shows that the reclusive country can punish anyone found in possession of South Korean movies or series.

"Those who have directly seen, heard or kept South Korean films, recordings, compilations, books, songs, drawings, and photos for more than 5 years and less than 15 years shall be punished by correctional labor punishment," the document read.

Yoon Mi So, a North Korean defector, said she was only 11 years old when she first saw a man being executed. The man was caught for possessing a South Korean drama. The entire neighborhood was forced to watch his execution, and "if you didn't, it would be classed as treason," Yoon, who now lives in South Korea, told BBC.

"I have a strong memory of the man who was blindfolded, I can still see his tears flow down. That was traumatic for me. The blindfold was completely drenched in his tears," she said. "They put him on a stake and bound him, then shot him."

Another defector, Kim Geum Hyok, said he was captured in 2009 at the age of 16 for possessing K-pop DVDs. His father had smuggled the DVDs from China and Kim later gave them to a friend.

He was then caught by guards from the special unit, which specializes in arresting people who watch "illegal videos." They allegedly kept him in a special room, interrogated him and beat him up for four days.

"I was terrified. I thought my world was ending. They wanted to know how I got this video and how many people I showed it to. I couldn't say my father had brought those DVDs from China… I just said, 'I don't know, I don't know. Please let me go,'" Kim recalled.

Kim's father then managed to bribe the guards and release him.

Despite all the bans and harsh punishments in North Korea, people still find ways to get their hands on foreign films or dramas.

"We had to take so many chances watching those dramas. But no one can defeat our curiosity," Kim said. "We wanted to know what was going on in the outside world."