North Korean youths face forced labour for using South Korean slang

Four North Korean youths could face a year in brutal forced labour camps after reportedly being arrested for 'talking like South Koreans'.

The group, all in their twenties, were arrested in Chongjin, the country's third largest city, after being reported for mimicking lines from South Korean films, Caliber.Az reports via Daily Mail.

State security authorities were tipped off by a local residents who had overheard the four.  

The young adults are currently being questioned by Chongjin's Ministry of State Security and could be sentenced to a year in Kim Jong-un's cruel labour camps, according to Daily NK. 

North Korea has increasingly cracked down on what it claims are South Korean influences in recent years.  

Kim Jong-un has previously described K-pop as a "vicious cancer" while they have targeted other slang words.

A 2020 law made the distribution of South Korean programmes punishable by death, while those watching it could face 15 years in a prison camp.

A year later the brutal regime passed a law, Article 41 of North Korea's Youth Education Guarantee Act, which banned young people from speaking or writing "in odd speech patterns that are not our own."

The use of "non-socialist" language is also prohibited but South Korean slang is thought to be quietly spreading among young people.

"These days, young people are careful to avoid South Korean speech during official activities because they know about the crackdowns, but when they’re with friends, they use it without hesitation—mimicking lines from South Korean movies and shows," a source told Daily NK. 

People's phones and messages are being searched for South Korean slang, according to a report from South Korea's Unification Ministry based on the testimony of hundreds of defectors. 

Searches of homes have also increased since 2021, with authorities looking for signs of outside culture. 

Meanwhile, last year, footage emerged of two teenage boys being sentenced to 12 years of hard labour for watching K-dramas. 

By Sabina Mammadli