Kim Jong-un has reportedly prohibited citizens from laughing for an 11-day period of mourning.
If you’re living in North Korea, a smirk, giggle or full-on laugh out loud could come with very severe consequences.
Today, December 17, marks 10 years since the death of Kim Jong Il, and in order to mark the occasion, his son, Kim Jong-un, has ruled that members of the public will be banned from laughing, drinking alcohol, or engaging in leisurely activities for a whole 11 days, according to a citizen of the country.
The citizen also told Radio Free Asia that on December 17, even grocery shopping has been prohibited, Fox News reports.
The period of mourning will take place over 11 days rather than the usual 10 because it’s the 10th anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death.
The citizen stated:
During the mourning period, we must not drink alcohol, laugh or engage in leisure activities.
In the past many people who were caught drinking or being intoxicated during the mourning period were arrested and treated as ideological criminals. They were taken away and never seen again.
The resident, from the north-eastern border of Sinuiju, also noted that you can’t ‘cry out loud’ even if ‘your family member dies during the mourning period,’ and that the ‘body must be taken out after it’s over’.
‘People cannot even celebrate their own birthdays if they fall within the mourning period,’ they said.
A member of the public who lives in the south-western province of South Hwanghae explained that police are even on ‘special duty to crack down on those who harm the mood of collective mourning’ from the very first day of December.
‘It’s a month-long special duty for the police. I heard that law enforcement officials cannot sleep at all,’ they stated.
Food shortages have to be controlled and handled by companies owned by the state so that ‘social order and safety’ is ensured, another source noted.
The state will remember Kim Jong Il through a series of events including art exhibitions, a concert and a flower display.
A citizen concluded: ‘I just hope that the mourning period for Kim Jong Il will be shortened to one week, just like the mourning period for Kim Il Sung. Residents are complaining that the living are forced to mourn these two people to death.’
From 1994, Kim Jong Il ruled North Korea until he passed away from a heart attack in 2011 at 69.
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Topics: News, Ban, Kim Jong-un, North Korea, Now
