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Topics: News, Politics, North Korea, World News
Charisa Bossinakis
Topics: News, Politics, North Korea, World News
Who loves short shorts? Not Kim Jong-Un.
The North Korean dictator has banned women from wearing shorts, deeming it ‘capitalist fashion’; however, men haven’t been slapped with the same regulation.
An anonymous resident told Radio Free Asia that 10 women were arrested in the market square for wearing above-the-knee trousers.
“They had to write a statement of self-criticism and sign a document saying they would face legal consequences if they were caught wearing shorts again,” they continued.
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“Many women are complaining, asking why men can wear shorts and women can't. They are saying that the authorities are discriminating against us,” they added.
The new ban is an extension of a broader North Korean law originally passed in 2020 regarding ‘anti-socialist behavior’.
These new laws on shorts have been enforced as the region grapples with an intense heat wave sweeping the nation.
Across the country, authorities have alerted residents of ‘the serious damage that extreme heat can cause to the body’, and health facilities would prepare to treat potential those suffering from heat stroke.
I mean, surely getting rid of shorts is a step in the wrong direction, no?
However, this isn’t the first time the nation has penalized women more than men in a crackdown on ‘anti-socialist’ behavior.
Earlier this month, Radio Free Asia reported that a public smoking ban was restricted only to women despite the dictator being a chain smoker himself.
A source told the outlet the new law was a bid to stop the increasing number of women smoking, with authorities monitoring public places such as marketplaces and restaurants.
The North Pyongan resident revealed that two women had been fined 30,000 won (USD $3.60) while smoking with their meal outside in Sinuiju.
“The police warned them that if they are caught smoking again they will be fined 100,000 won (USD $12) and if they are caught a third time they could be imprisoned at a disciplinary labor center for a month,” she continued.
Last year, North Korea also prohibited specific clothing, including trousers and trendy haircuts.
The Socialist Patriotic Youth League released footage of women wearing 'capitalist' fashion to lecture people on the importance of people wearing their clothes and hair in the 'North Korean style'.
Many of the women in the films were condemned for wearing tight trousers and having dyed hair, as per Daily NK.
In the video, they are dubbed 'capitalist delinquents', wearing 'indecent clothes'.