As previously reported by Daily NK, North Korea is seeing a growing number of serious crimes committed by young people, allegedly the result of imitating Chinese media content depicting brutal acts. Sources say that another regular feature of Chinese films, the possession and carrying of knives by teenagers, is on the increase. A large proportion of people know stories of knives being pulled on people in imitation of Chinese movies, too.
On the 16th, a source from Yangkang Province told Daily NK about the latest example of a serious crime committed by teenagers, saying, “At the end of last month, an incident occurred where some drunk middle students killed a discharged soldier who was passing with a weapon. Many people say they’re scared to go out in the evening, and feel the number of attacks by young people is growing.”
According to the source, the two extremely drunk 5th grade students from Hyehwa Senior Middle School in Hyesan bumped shoulders with the discharged soldier as they passed each other. The soldier spoke rudely to the students in protest, whereupon one grew angry and stabbed him in the stomach.
The source explained, “It is said that students who enjoy watching violent Chinese movies often walk around with knives these days. A witness to this latest incident says that the student who did it was the same: he enjoyed watching those types of movies, too, and at the time of the murder he looked like he was acting out one of the scenes.”
“Initially they couldn’t catch the offender, who ran off after killing the soldier,” the source revealed. “However, they later gave themselves up after seeing a notice offering clemency if they voluntarily turned themselves in. Of course it is a relief that they caught the killer, but people still feel that ‘avoiding students is the way to avoid trouble.’”
“Ever since (the authorities) started cracking down on the watching of South Korean dramas, most students have been enjoying Chinese dramas and movies,” the source asserted. “Many of those Chinese movies depict stories of revenge, and teenagers who watch them end up saying and doing violent things in their daily lives.”
