North Korea is clamping down on South Korea's cultural influence in the country. State media in Pyongyang are urging young people in the North to stop using South Korean slang, listening to South Korean bands and adopting southern hair and fashion styles.
Jean Lee, an expert on North Korea at the Wilson Center and co-host of the Lazarus Heist podcast on the BBC World Service, explains what's changed since the 'opening up' of 2018 when South Korean musicians were invited to perform in Pyongyang. She explains how the North Korean government is trying to assert control, and that people could be sent to camps if caught with material from their southern neighbour. "They are trying to come up with ways of dealing with rising discontent, so trying to curb and change what young North Koreans crave, by inflicting very harsh punishments."
The FT’s review of The Lazarus Heist, the Peabody-nominated BBC World Service podcast.