A growing number of North Korean youths in Hoeryong City, North Hamgyong Province, are inquiring about the South Korean movie “Exhuma,” which was released in February, according to a source.
“Rumors about the South Korean movie ‘Exhuma’ have spread rapidly in the border area this month through locals using Chinese-made cell phones,” a Daily NK source in North Hamgyong Province said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity. “In response, a growing number of people in Hoeryong, especially young people, have been looking for the movie recently.”
In North Korea’s border region, many people earn money by using Chinese-made cell phones to communicate with the outside world. Of course, they learn about important events, news and information from outside North Korea relatively quickly.
Some locals are in the loop about cultural content from the outside world, including new movies and TV shows from South Korea or China, and introduce them to other North Koreans.
The recent surge in demand for the South Korean movie “Exhuma” in Hoeryong and other places along the border in North Hamgyong Province began with local residents using Chinese-made cell phones to contact the outside world, the source said.
According to the source, rumors are circulating in Hoeryong that “Exhuma” is a “very exciting movie that depicts what happens when a talented shaman discovers that a mysterious illness that has plagued a family for generations is due to the location of an ancestor’s grave, and she tries to move the grave to solve the problem.”
Rumors say that the movie is popular in South Korea as well, which has sparked the curiosity of Hoeryong’s youth.
“Some North Koreans also ask fortune tellers about their ancestors’ graves when they can’t solve problems at home or when illnesses don’t improve,” the source said. “This is due to the belief that misfortune will come if the ancestors are angry because their graves are poorly located or their descendants do not remember them enough. So people can understand the movie and are interested in the plot.”
In North Korea, superstition is considered a serious crime – so much so that Article 256 of the North Korean penal code outlines punishments for superstitious acts. Yet people continue to rely heavily on superstition, visiting fortune tellers and acting on their readings.
North Korea also severely punishes the consumption and distribution of video material from the outside world, including South Korea, under a law enacted in 2020 to “eradicate reactionary thought and culture.” However, North Koreans’ demand for South Korean pop culture content, including movies and TV shows, continues unabated despite threats from the authorities.
“People are eager to watch South Korean movies and TV shows and do whatever they have to do, and ‘Exhuma’ is no exception,” the source said. “Parents who are a few years older don’t show it outwardly, even if they want to see the movie, but young people actively seek out people who distribute South Korean movies and TV shows to buy it.”
A Hyeryong resident who sells and distributes so-called impure videos said that he has once again realized that the authorities “cannot suppress the craze for South Korean movies even if they crack down and instill fear,” according to the source. The man said that “several groups of young people harass vendors for movies every day, and if they had ‘Exhuma’ this time, they would have made a lot of money.”
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May 29, 2024 at 11:30AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)