Women and young people targeted for “anti-socialist” fashion
Women are being stopped and filmed against their will by inspection squads. [Photo/ NK Times]
Each year, as summer approaches, the regime turns its control up a notch and launches ideological campaigns about fashion and personal grooming.
This year, true to form, videos criticizing young people’s attire and hairstyles have been produced and used for ideological education.
Such measures stem from the belief that women are being influenced by foreign cultural trends.
Lectures were recently held at factories and enterprises in Hyesan City, where “unusual clothing and hairstyles” were strongly condemned, according to a local source.
The lectures featured footage showing women being stopped for sporting what are considered anti-socialist and non-socialist styles. To drive the point home, it revealed personal information about those targeted.
The video reportedly used phrases like “ideological and cultural schemes spread by the enemy,” and sharply criticized the cultural influence of South Korea and the West on women and young people.
“Among some morally unsound women, clothing and grooming still do not align with the emotions and lifestyle of our people, disrupting the social atmosphere,” the narrator was quoted as saying. “Our youth, who as young people of Juche Korea should be the most ideologically and emotionally prepared, are getting swept up in the cultural schemes of the enemy, becoming obsessed with dressing up and wearing flashy clothes to the point where it’s embarrassing to even look at them.”
“Despite relentless ideological education and intensified controls, people continue to act as if nothing matters, flaunting unconventional fashion and grooming,” it went on.
“How should we deal with these individuals who ignore the Party’s voice and fall for the enemy’s ideological and cultural infiltration?” the narrator said. “They must be strictly punished in accordance with the law.”
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, North Korea has pushed hard to prevent ideological collapse among youth through what are now dubbed the “three evil laws,” including the Law on the Elimination of Reactionary Thought and Culture and the Law on Ensuring Youth Ideological Education. Nonetheless, youth — always sensitive to what’s new — remain highly interested in trends, and many young women are reportedly putting effort into dressing fashionably and styling their hair according to those trends.
However, North Korea dismisses women’s pursuit of beauty as merely “unconventional clothing and grooming,” labeling such acts as anti-socialist or non-socialist behavior and subjecting them to public criticism.
In the video, the regime criticized young people’s clothing by saying, “They talk about trends and fashion while wearing tight-fitting pants that cling to their bodies, disturbing the socialist way of life.” The phenomenon of wearing unconventional clothes, it noted, “isn’t limited to young women — even housewives are showing strong signs of it.”
The source continued, “You can’t help but question whether these young people are in their right minds. Just look at this woman — her pants are so tight they’re glued to her hips. It’s because of women like her that the lines between right and wrong are becoming blurred.” The video also criticized how, instead of reflecting sincerely when caught, these individuals “justify their own faults and brazenly argue with the enforcement workers.”
Given North Korea’s wariness of external cultural influence, which it sees as a threat to ideological purity, the use of video lectures appears to be part of that broader agenda. The source added, “They just say to dress neatly but don’t provide any clear guidelines. If your appearance happens to catch an inspector’s eye the wrong way, you’re stopped and filmed — regardless of your consent.” The source expressed frustration, saying, “If you have some money or connections, you can easily get away even if caught. But if not, you’re filmed and publicly humiliated without fail.”
Sewon is the North Korean-born founder and CEO of NK Times, a Seoul-based media outlet focused on North Korea. Drawing on his personal experience living there, he strives for transparency and accuracy in reporting, working to inform readers worldwide about the realities of North Korea.
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