The criminalizing of divorce to maintain the fiction of the happy socialist society
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In North Korea, marriage is considered a lifelong bond, but the cultural and political framework transforms it into a tool of state control.
Divorce is not simply discouraged. It is stigmatized. It is, in fact, criminalized. Ultimately, it is banned. Why? Because marital failure disrupts the regime’s narrative of social harmony and socialist order.
Marriage may be a journey of two people traveling together along the same road, but the journey is bound to the state.
From the state’s founding in 1948, the family has been defined as the “fundamental unit of society,” not in the sense of private love, but as a collective institution serving the socialist system. The emphasis is on women respecting their husbands, raising children, and nurturing them as the next generation of revolutionary citizens.
Divorce in this picture is incompatible with “Our Style of Socialism.” Family preservation is treated as a public duty, not a private matter. Happy families are seen as proof of socialist success. Allowing divorce would introduce narratives of failure, conflict, and dissatisfaction, all of which contradict the claim of an ideal society.
This cultural logic is reinforced by law. The constitution and family law explicitly regulate marriage and divorce, embedding them in the state’s ideological goals. Divorce is not framed as a legal right but as a disruption of the social order.
“When I lived in North Korea, I saw many people around me attempt divorce,” one defector said. “They only wanted to end their marital relationship, yet they were branded as morally corrupt and had to endure legal punishment. Divorce was not a right they had. It was a crime.”
In October 2022, when I was still living there, the government made a surprising announcement of what it called a “last chance” for residents to divorce. Authorities claimed they would offer legal procedures free of charge, but in practice bribes and money were required. Anyone wanting to divorce was forcibly subjected to one month in a danryundae, a disciplinary camp functioning as a forced labor facility.
After this announcement, the state drastically reduced the number of courts handling divorce. From one court per county, now there was only one per province. Those who still wished to do it had to travel long distances, bearing the costs, time, and social surveillance involved. Most eventually gave up.
Then it got worse. Even if a couple mutually agreed to end their relationship, the regime introduced a one-year prison term for anyone who actually went through with it. The message was clear: Individual happiness and freedom were disregarded. Regime stability and social control were paramount.
By 2023, divorce was banned outright. No matter how broken a marriage was, even in cases of violence and abuse, divorce was no longer an option. Women bore the greatest burden, denied any legal path to escape domestic violence or economic exploitation.
As society evolves, however, cracks appear. Fellow defectors describe how individuals quietly resist, attempting divorce despite stigma and punishment, revealing tension between human needs and state ideology.
Whether the regime can maintain its grip or whether such suppression will eventually collapse under its own contradictions remains an open question.
Kim Yumi, a North Korean defector, was born and raised in Haeju, South Hwanghae Province, a coastal military area. Growing up near a naval base, she was able to secretly watch South Korean news programs and TV shows, thereby uncovering the vibrant, democratic society of South Korea. Yumi and her husband made the brave decision to escape North Korea and seek a better future. Now in Seoul, she is actively involved in raising awareness about the realities of life in North Korea, especially on her YouTube channel, “@KimYumiTV.”
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