North Korea's Arirang Meari site cited unnamed
South Korean film critics as saying that the TV series shows an
"unequal society where moneyless people are treated like chess
pieces for the rich."
Made in South Korea, the nine-part thriller, in which
cash-strapped contestants play deadly childhood games in a bid
to win 45.6 billion won ($38 million), became a worldwide
sensation https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-media-idUSKBN29P0C4
for Netflix when it was released in September.
"It is said that it makes people realize the sad reality of the
beastly South Korean society in which human beings are driven
into extreme competition and their humanity is being wiped out,"
the article said.
North Korea has been imposing stiff fines or prison for anyone
caught enjoying South Korean entertainment or copying the way
South Koreans speak as leader Kim Jong Un steps up a war on
outside influences https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-media-idUSKBN29P0C4
and calls for better homegrown entertainment.
A sweeping new “anti-reactionary thought” law was imposed late
last year, including up to 15 years in a prison camp for those
caught with media from South Korea, according to summaries of
the rules obtained by Daily NK, a Seoul-based website that
reports from sources inside North Korea.
South Korean culture in routinely criticised in North Korea. In
March, the Arirang Meari website said K-pop stars were treated
like “slaves” by large companies and lived a “miserable life” in
the South.
In February 2020, a pro-North Korea newspaper based in Japan
praised Academy Awards best picture-winning South Korean movie
“Parasite”, calling it a masterpiece https://www.reuters.com/article/us-awards-oscar-parasite-northkorea-idUSKBN20F1CU
that “starkly exposed the reality” of the rich-poor gap in South
Korea.
(Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content
|
|