What happened: On USB sticks and SD cards, copies of Squid Game were smuggled into North Korea. According to reports, the individual accused of smuggling in the show has been punished to death by a firing squad. Details: A North Korean student who bought the USB drive was sentenced to life in prison. Six others who saw the show were sentenced to five years of hard labor. Teachers and administrators at the school have been sacked, removed from the Workers’ Party. They may be deported to isolated mines as well. North Korean citizens are prohibited from watching the show, as well as any other South Korean television programme. The influence of free-market South Korean culture in international media appears to be considered as a challenge to North Korea’s ruling power. What else: Previous year the government approved the “Law on the Elimination of Reactionary Thought and Culture.” The law makes watching, owning, or sharing material from South Korea and the United States punishable by death. Another guy is thought to have been executed earlier this year for breaking the same law. He was distributing unlicensed CDs and USBs containing South Korean music and TV programmes.