Kim Jong Un was meant to be their only idol – then North Koreans discovered K-pop
North Korean defectors have described how K-pop, despite being banned and punishable by imprisonment, has become widely known even inside the isolated state, challenging its attempt to make Kim Jong Un the country's only "idol". Testimonies gathered by the BBC show groups such as BTS and Blackpink, along with earlier acts like Girls' Generation, Teen Top and 2PM, have reached North Korean audiences through smuggled and secretly shared media, offering a rare glimpse of an outside world otherwise kept from citizens through surveillance and strict control.
Defectors including Lee Yeon-su, who left North Korea in 2011, and Kang Gyu-ri, who fled in 2023, recounted first hearing South Korean music only after escaping, while others said they listened to K-pop in secret back home, often not knowing the artists' names. BTS's 2020 English-language hit "Dynamite" is cited as a track that resonated widely despite the language barrier, and the group's Korean name has reportedly entered everyday North Korean slang. Now living in South Korea, some defectors, including Yeon-su, have attended multiple BTS concerts, describing the freedom to choose who to support as something previously unimaginable.
In short
- K-pop has spread inside North Korea despite it being illegal there
- Defectors recall secretly hearing BTS, Blackpink and others at home
- Some now attend BTS concerts freely after escaping to South Korea
Explained simply
North Korea is one of the world's most strictly controlled societies, where the government limits what citizens can see, hear and do. The country's leader, Kim Jong Un, deliberately cultivates himself as the nation's sole "idol" – a focal point for loyalty and reverence. Yet despite these efforts at total control, K-pop, the hugely popular music genre from neighbouring South Korea, has somehow reached inside the country and is now widely known, even though listening to it is banned and punishable by imprisonment.
North Korean defectors who have escaped to South Korea have described how groups like BTS and Blackpink, along with earlier artists including Girls' Generation and 2PM, reached audiences back home through smuggled recordings and secretly shared media. Some people who fled the country said they first heard of K-pop only after escaping, whilst others recalled listening in secret at home, often without knowing the artists' names. BTS's 2020 song "Dynamite" is cited as an example that spread widely despite being sung in English, with the group's Korean name reportedly becoming everyday slang in North Korea.
This phenomenon reveals how difficult it has become for even the most authoritarian regime to completely seal off its population from the outside world in the digital age. The spread of K-pop into North Korea, where the government attempts to control every aspect of citizens' lives, demonstrates that information and culture can penetrate even the strictest borders. For defectors now living in South Korea, the freedom to openly enjoy and choose their preferred music represents a kind of liberty that was unimaginable under their former government.
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