North Korean authorities have reportedly punished several officials and students for secretly watching the abruptly canceled Korean War film “72 Hours.”
According to Radio Free Asia on August 8, authorities in Yanggang Province have punished multiple officials and students from Kim Jung-suk County for secretly watching a government-produced propaganda film. The punishment has sparked heightened interest among residents regarding the sudden cancellation of the film’s screening.
Multiple sources told the media outlet that a son of the deputy chairman of the People’s Committee, who had secretly brought the film on a USB, was expelled from the party.
The incident began in early July when the deputy chairman’s son, a student at Hyesan Medical University, shared the film with his friends at the university. On June 28, he also showed the film to officials at the People’s Committee.
As a result, the deputy chairman and four employees from the Yanggang Department were dismissed from their positions, and four students studying at Hyesan Medical University and the College of Agriculture were expelled from their universities.
While the primary offenders were severely punished, the remaining four students, who were merely viewers, received lighter punishments. However, being expelled from university still significantly hampers their social advancement, even if they were not expelled from the Party.
According to RFA, the main offender, the deputy chairman’s son, received an eight-month sentence in a labor training camp. The expelled students, all veterans and Party members, now face permanently blocked paths to social advancement.
On August 3, the punishments were decided during a meeting of senior officials at the County’s Party Committee. It was revealed that the USB containing the film was purchased at Hyesan Market for 12 Chinese yuan ($1.68).
North Korea’s blockbuster “72 hours” which took more than two years to make and was intended to usher in a new era of high-quality movie production has been banned only five months after its release in July.
The movie tells the story of the opening moments of the 1950-53 Korean War – which it says South Korea and the U.S. started – and it details how the North Korean army captured Seoul in only three days. In reality, it was the North that attacked first.
The movie was reportedly produced following a direct order from Kim Jong-un after he watched the Chinese propaganda film about the Korean War, “The Battle of Changjin.” The sudden cancellation has sparked controversy both domestically and internationally, as it was heavily funded by the government based on Kim’s directive.
According to sources cited by RFA, key issues included the absence of battle scenes involving U.S. forces, despite the North Korean propaganda narrative that the war was a U.S. invasion, and the implausibility of the rapid North Korean advance given the American and South Korean military capabilities.
BY YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]
