Kim Jong Un was meant to be their only idol – then North Koreans found K-pop
Growing up in a military family, Yeon-su was taught that the South was the enemy. When he escaped, he tried to stay away from South Korean culture. However, music entered his life.
He achieved this in 2011, before BTS debuted, before K-pop became a global sensation. Now even listening to this or watching programs from the South is a crime in North Korea that can get people imprisoned or worse.
Some, like Yeon-su, say they had never heard of South Korean music until they crossed the border. When they did this, it opened up a whole new world of freedom and fun, helping them adapt to a strange new life that was now all their own.
But other defectors tell the BBC that despite the restrictions, K-pop has survived Kim Jong Un’s stifling dictatorship.
They say that they listen to songs secretly, often without knowing who they are listening to, holding on to the mysterious and hopeful lyrics. Some even managed to watch K-pop performances and were shocked by the blue-haired idols wearing makeup: “Why do men look like this?”
“North Korea is a place where the entire system is set up so that there can only be one celebrity, one idol, Kim Jong Un,” says 25-year-old defector Hannah Oh.
But it seems North Koreans have discovered other idols like BTS and Blackpink, and before them, Girls’ Generation, Teen Top and 2PM.
BTS’s Korean name, Bangtan Sonyeondan, has even started to appear in colloquial slang in the North, with one defector saying: “People say things like: ‘Have you tried the Bangtan vest?’ or ‘Did you wear a Bangtan backpack?'”
