Kim Jong Un was supposed to be North Koreans' only idol - then they found K-pop

South Korean popular culture, particularly K-pop, is increasingly reaching audiences inside North Korea through smuggled media and unofficial broadcasts, offering some residents an alternative view of the outside world despite strict government efforts to block foreign influence.

North Korea is built around a system in which leader Kim Jong Un is the only officially celebrated public figure, with the state maintaining ideological control through surveillance, censorship and mandatory displays of loyalty, reports the BBC.

"North Korea is a place where the whole system is set up so that there can only be one celebrity, one idol - Kim Jong Un," said Hannah Oh, a North Korean defector. "Once people begin expressing themselves, it affects a system where everyone is supposed to think and move together."

The arrival of global K-pop acts such as BTS, Blackpink and Girls' Generation has introduced alternative cultural figures to some North Koreans. Exposure to music, fashion and entertainment from South Korea presents ideas of personal choice and self-expression that contrast with North Korea's tightly controlled social system.

"Every time I come to a BTS concert, I realise how happy I am that I can like and support someone of my own free will. That would have been unimaginable in North Korea," said defector Lee Yeon-su.

Despite the country's isolation, South Korean music and television continue to circulate through clandestine channels.

Some North Koreans use MP3 players and hidden SD cards to store music and video files. In coastal areas such as Kyongsong, some households reportedly use antennas to receive South Korean television signals from across the sea.

To reduce the risk of detection during inspections, media files are sometimes renamed with corrupted or misleading titles that conceal the identity of the artist or programme. Some people also reportedly carry empty SD cards as decoys in case they are stopped by authorities.

"One had South Korean music. The other was an empty card I could hand over if I was caught," Oh said, recalling how she hid SD cards while growing up in North Korea.

Defectors say their first encounters with South Korean music and television were unlike anything they had previously experienced.

"I didn't understand the lyrics, but the melody was so good, it made you feel excited. Everyone followed along," said Kang Gyu-ri. "Everything was shocking. I thought they were Korean like us, but they looked very different."

K-pop's influence has extended beyond music into everyday language and fashion. Some young North Koreans imitate the dance moves and rap styles of groups such as BTS and Teen Top, while the word "Bangtan," derived from BTS's Korean name, has reportedly become part of everyday slang in references to clothing and accessories.

"At first, I thought, 'Is this even a song?' But they looked so cool dancing while they rapped that boys started copying them," Kang said.

For some defectors, South Korean entertainment also introduced unfamiliar ideas about relationships and emotional expression.

"It was the first time I thought, 'so this is how people express love,'" Oh said, recalling the first time she heard a South Korean ballad.

North Korean authorities have stepped up efforts to prevent the spread of South Korean media, viewing it as a challenge to state ideology.

Watching or possessing South Korean entertainment is a criminal offence that can result in imprisonment or, in some cases, public execution. Schools also conduct public criticism sessions in which students caught consuming foreign media are publicly denounced and sentenced to detention centres as a warning to others.

"You had to be selected to attend events and if you weren't, you had to stay home with your curtains closed," Lee said, describing the restrictions placed on everyday life.

For many North Koreans, however, access to South Korean entertainment has provided a rare connection to life beyond the country's borders.

"It was our breathing hole, our window to the outside world. People risk their lives for it because they gain hope to endure another day," Kang said.

"Once you've seen that world, it's hard to turn away," Oh said, adding that exposure to life outside North Korea eventually contributed to her decision to defect.

After resettling in South Korea, many defectors say music continues to play an important role in helping them adjust to their new lives.

Joining fan communities such as BTS's ARMY has helped some build a sense of belonging, while songs centred on self-acceptance and healing, including Answer: Love Myself, have encouraged some defectors to embrace rather than conceal their North Korean backgrounds.

"I found the courage to stop running and face that part of myself. As I understood myself, I found I had more room in my heart to embrace others," Lee said.

Other songs, such as Spring Day, have resonated with defectors who continue to experience separation from family members left behind in North Korea.

"I missed them, and they felt increasingly distant, like they belonged to another world," said Hana Kang, describing how the song reminds her of the family she left behind.

Hana Kang said BTS's perseverance also inspired her during her resettlement. "Looking at them made me think, 'If they can keep trying like that, maybe I can too.'"