North Korea has produced and distributed a video about how lawbreakers in Pyongyang have been punished by being banished from the city. Underscoring their banishment seems aimed at maximizing the sense of fear among city residents.
A propaganda video recently acquired by Daily NK contains public criticism of five offenders, including one who frequently stole personal property and another who failed to reform after several convictions.
The video shows the five individuals being brought before a large crowd to face public criticism with the apparent goal of sending a pointed message to the North Korean public.
The video also includes details about the five individuals’ names, ages, residences, jobs and criminal records. The individuals’ crimes are then presented in detail and harshly criticized.
According to the video, all five of the individuals are Pyongyang citizens who were ultimately banished from the city for the crimes of theft, assault, prostitution, solicitation, drug use and theft of state property.
The video in question may have been produced to educate Pyongyang citizens.
In North Korea, living in Pyongyang — known as the “capital of the revolution” — is thought to be a considerable privilege. Compared to other areas, the North Korean government pays extra attention to the homes and livelihoods of Pyongyang citizens.
Considering that many North Koreans never get a chance to visit Pyongyang in their lives, being expelled from the privileged population in the capital and forced to live in the provinces is considered a disgrace on par with ostracism from society.
By producing and distributing a video containing personal details about these offenders and their crimes and detailing their banishment from Pyongyang, the North Korean authorities were seeking to remind Pyongyang citizens about the consequences of crime.
In the end, it is all part of the regime’s goal of tightening lax discipline among the people of Pyongyang and reinforcing cohesion in the regime.
“The crimes presented here show that socialism cannot be defended solely through force of arms. No tolerance is due to people such as these who act in concert with our foes’ brazen schemes against our prudent and dignified socialist system,” the video narration says.
“We must strive even more aggressively to stamp out all kinds of anti-socialist and non-socialist practices. We must be proactive in supporting the resolute protection of our single-minded unity and the all-out defense of political unity.”
The North Korean authorities have been striving to uproot all kinds of criminal behavior as part of their recent declaration of war on crime. They are particularly focused on stopping theft of personal and state property, drug use, sex crimes and the transmission of information both inside and outside of the country.
North Koreans seem to be paying heed to these efforts.
“While crimes are being prosecuted as stipulated in the criminal code, there have been efforts [recently] to hold criminals to a stricter standard. So people are taking note of which crimes to avoid,” a reporting partner inside the country told Daily NK on Wednesday.
“Crime has been on the rise as living conditions have continued to worsen, especially after the border was closed because of COVID-19. The authorities keep cracking the whip, but that doesn’t help reduce crime when people are struggling just to get by.”
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
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