“Singing while eating at a restaurant is an expression of puppet culture”

Shot from a government video lecture which says a 17-year-old student from an advanced school watched one item of pornography and 11 dramas and distributed them. Source | North Korea government video.

A recent government video from North Korea gives an idea of how something that would be seen as enjoyable and harmless in any other country becomes criminal there. 

Entitled “Singing while eating at a restaurant is an expression of puppet culture,” the educational video makes it clear that installing a sound system in a restaurant can be considered a criminal act. That is because such systems can be used to spread South Korean culture. 

Being caught singing or distributing South Korean songs, or any foreign songs, can result in 10 years of reeducation, a life sentence, or even in extreme cases the death penalty. 

Understandably, no one sings South Korean songs in restaurants. 

The narrator of this North Korean video, obtained by NK Insider this month, says that singing while eating at a restaurant is an expression of the puppet culture.

The sound systems only play North Korean songs. But even this is strictly controlled. That is because the authorities treat the act of listening to or singing songs while eating as a South Korean sort of thing to do.

The video that warns people about this is one in a regular weekly educational series that covers recent social and cultural trends emerging within North Korea and which the authorities have deemed criminal and anti-state acts, subject to harsh punishment.

“Singing while eating in a restaurant is an expression of puppet culture,” the narrator says. “Despite this, some service units still secretly install music systems in dimly lit rooms in restaurants, persistently engaging in illegal music services while avoiding the eyes of the authorities. People, influenced by puppet culture, sneak in like cats stealing food, unaware of the passing of time, and engage in drunken brawls and debauched parties.”

A security officer reports, “Among the youth, there has been a concerning rise in the viewing and distribution of illegal recordings. Recently, we detained 19 students, and among them, 14 were as young as 14 years old.” 

The narrator says that the “illusion of puppet culture is clouding the minds of young people, corrupting their spirits.”

To make this picture even more complicated, citizens even avoid praising the regime using a restaurant’s sound system because the set-up itself indicates an embrace of “puppet” culture. Even approved local songs can only be sung at designated times and places approved by the authorities. 

The notable exceptions to these rules are the restaurants operated overseas by the state. They get to pipe music for customers because they fall under the control of the ruling Workers Party’s Room 39, which handles the Kim family’s funds.

Era Seo
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