A line from the South Korean drama 'Crash Landing on You' is becoming a part of everyday speech.
"Since late last year, it's become popular for people to ask each other, 'You think you're the general or something?' to point out when someone inexperienced or young is acting stuck-up and thinks they are above themselves," shared a North Korean source who requested to stay anonymous.
The phrase was said by a North Korean soldier in the drama to a lady who was hosting an informal awards ceremony to show her gratitude for the North Korean soldiers' hospitality. However, the North Korean soldier says to the lady, "You think you're the general or something? Who are you to give us awards?"
"There's a reason why people like to ask each other if they are the general. The people are unhappy with Kim Jong Un's behavior of still clinging to nuclear and missile development even though the economy and people's livelihoods are at rock bottom due to U.S. economic sanctions and the coronavirus crisis," said a North Korean source.
The U.S. economic sanctions restricted certain exports to North Korea with the goal of depriving Pyongyang of cash and resources that could be used to fund its nuclear and missile programs.
RFA reported last month that North Korean youth were the target of investigation for sharing illegal content on their smartphones.
"Before they are investigated, people are able to hide or discard their video records before they are investigated. But the slang and sarcasm they learned from these south Korean shows remain in their minds," shared a source.
Sources say that the youth would not only be punished for sharing South Korean movies or underground music, but also for texting to each other using South Korean spellings or slang.
Media from South Korean is considered dangerous to North Korean authorities because they claim that South Korean media encourages North Koreans to escape.
South Korea's Unification Media Group (UMG) surveyed that out of 200 North Korean escapees living in South Korea, 90% consumed foreign media while living in North Korea and 75% knew someone who was punished for it. 70% shared that they believed media consumption became more dangerous to access since Kim Jong Un took power in 2011.
