North Korea has enacted a new law that punishes with the death penalty those who use the South Korean dialect and its expressions.

With this strict law, the authorities seek to eliminate the growing influence of South Korea on the language used by its northern neighbor, especially amid the spread of South Korean series in recent years.

Yesterday, Thursday, June 29, 2023, the British newspaper The Times reported that Pyongyang authorities began in May to apply the "Cultural Language Protection" law, which aims to purify the North Korean dialect from foreign words and expressions introduced from its neighbor.

The law warned that "the state will treat anyone who imitates or spreads South Korean language as contaminated garbage and as convicted criminals," adding, "Anyone who violates the law, no matter how minor the violation, will face severe legal penalties, up to the death penalty."

The law also prohibits the use of newly coined words not approved by the relevant authorities; Japanese vocabulary; words difficult to understand; and unethical abbreviations.

Smuggling series into North Korea:

Smugglers and activists bring South Korean movies, TV series, and new programs stored on small computer memory cards, then watch them on personal computers.

Mobile phones have become a modern means of receiving foreign content whose publication is banned in North Korea.

Meanwhile, the popularity of South Korean dramas has promoted new speech patterns.

The language used in North Korea has diverged from its counterpart in South Korea since the division of the Koreas 75 years ago, especially since the latter has become scattered with words borrowed from the English language and newly coined terms.