Most of the content consumed in North Korea is produced outside the country, with a significant part of it being Chinese bootleg recordings of poor quality.
[1] Pornographic magazines and films sold at black markets are distributed as CDs called "Sex-R" (sex CD-R) and are arranged by video quality, which is mostly poor due to most of them being cheap bootleg recordings from China.
In recent years, prices have fallen dramatically due to increased supply,[8] with one Chinese smuggler stating he regularly hands out porn for free for customers who buy pirated K-dramas.
[11] Henry A. Crumpton, a veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Operations, explains that he has "never met a North Korean diplomat who did not want porn, either for personal use or resale.
"[12] When North Korea sent troops to fight alongside the Russians against Ukraine in October 2024, it was reported that the Koreans were taking advantage of the superior internet service away from home by "gorging on pornography".
[13] According to the Criminal Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea: A person who, without authorization, imports, makes, distributes or illegally keeps music, dance, drawings, photos, books, video recordings or electronic media that reflects decadent, carnal or foul contents shall be punished by short term labour for less than two years.
In cases where such a person imports, keeps or distributes sexual video recordings, the punishment shall be reform through labour for more than five years and less than ten years.The law specifies that viewing such material is also illegal:[15] A person who watches or listens to music, dance, drawings, photos, books, video recordings or electronic media that reflects decadent, carnal or foul contents or who performs such acts himself or herself shall be punished by short term labour for less than two years.
In cases where the person commits a grave offence, he or she shall be punished by reform through labour for less than five years.The State Security Department is tasked with monitoring illegal imports of pornographic materials.
[citation needed] Access to "sex and adult websites" on the Internet has been blocked from the country,[18] but in the past BitTorrent downloads of pornography have been detected, likely relating to foreigners residing in Pyongyang.