The North Korean government recently revised its "Criminal Law" to significantly increase the penalties for "anti-socialist culture," for the first time including certain foreign cultural dissemination behaviors under the scope of capital punishment, prohibiting North Koreans from using Korean popular expressions such as "Oppa."
According to a comprehensive report by The Korea Herald and Asia News Network, the North Korean Ministry of Justice issued a related statement on the 30th, stating that this move aims to curb the infiltration of foreign ideologies, especially the influence of South Korea's "Korean Wave."
This amendment increases the crimes subject to capital punishment from 11 to 16, covering drug crimes, dissemination of reactionary ideas and cultures, among other special criminal cases. Among them, "Korean Wave Culture" is explicitly regarded as one of the factors threatening regime stability, including the imitation of Korean popular expressions such as "Oppa."
"Oppa" is a term used by Korean women to affectionately address older males, referring to an older brother or older male, and is also often used in romantic relationships. In North Korea, authorities only recognize its original meaning—as in "biological older brother"—and other extended usages are deemed inappropriate.
The North Korean Ministry of Justice noted that recently, more and more North Korean youths in their 20s to 30s have started to imitate the usage by South Koreans, which alarms the authorities.
South Korea points out that North Korea considers the penetration of Korean Wave culture, even the popularity of a term like "Oppa," as a potential threat to the regime, which is one of the reasons prompting the legal amendment. (Source: Lianhe Zaobao)