Kim Jong Un was meant to be their only idol – then North Koreans discovered K-pop

Raised in a military family, Yoo-su ​​learns that the South is the enemy. When she escaped, she tried to escape from South Korean culture. But music found its way into her life.

She released it in 2011, before BTS started, before K-pop became a global sensation. Now listening to him or watching shows from the South is a crime that would land people in prison or worse in North Korea.

Some, like Yeon-su, say they never heard South Korean music until they crossed the border. When they do, it opens up a world of freedom and happiness, helping them experience a new life that is now entirely their own.

But other refugees told the BBC that despite the ban, K-pop has broken through the tyrannical regime of Kim Jong Un.

They say they listened to songs in secret, often not knowing who they were listening to, but with mysterious and hopeful lyrics. Some have watched K-pop shows in awe of blue-haired idols wearing make-up and wondering, “Why do guys look like that?”

“North Korea is a place where the whole system is set up to have only one celebrity, one idol – Kim Jong Un,” said 25-year-old Hana Oh.

But as it turns out, North Koreans have found other idols like BTS and Blackpink, and before them Girls’ Generation, Teen Top and 2PM.

BTS’s Korean name, Bangtan Sonyendan, has become a part of everyday conversation in the North, with a fan saying: or ‘Are you wearing a Bangtan bag?’