North Korea — is one of the few modern countries that has a culture closed to the rest of the world. The life of the inhabitants of this harsh but attractive country is shrouded in secrets and myths.
I propose to slightly open the veil of North Korean secrets. I will tell you about those things that are strictly prohibited in this country.
State against pants
Jeans — the most comfortable and fashionable clothes in the whole world. But North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un decided that the jeans did not paint anyone, so he banned them in his country. Although even in Muslim countries, jeans are in demand. But not in Korea.
Together with jeans, Kim also banned short skirts, bright dresses, T-shirts that have no sleeves. And then he decided to ban the entire western fashion. And the Koreans began to wear what they produce in their country. They simply had no other choice.
Embargo and Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola in North Korea was considered a symbol of the West and also banned. In general, this country has an embargo on many Western products. For this reason, there is nothing surprising in the ban on this sweet soda.
True, enterprising Korean businessmen still import cola into the country in small batches, semi-legally from China. But everywhere it is not for sale there.
Hygiene products for women
While women around the world rejoice at the fact that for these days they have tampons and gaskets, in North Korea the entire female population uses gauze, cotton wool and rags on such days, which then have to be washed.
Why did they take up arms against female hygiene in this country? There is no exact answer. You can buy some semblance of modern gaskets in Korean stores, but they will remind those that women do at home.
Religious symbols
North Korea is considered the country of the victorious atheism. And in this country it is forbidden to openly use any religious or near-religious symbols.
Koreans do not even put a Christmas tree for the New Year. Since it is equated in Korea with the symbolism of Christianity. And for keeping the Bible at home, a Korean can go to jail.
Foreign TV channels
In North Korea, 4 state channels are officially broadcast on TV. There is no other television in the country. But even these four channels show very little entertainment programs.
Mostly there they play news in which they transmit information about the achievements of the state. Rigid censorship in a closed state extends not only to television, but also to the Internet. Koreans have not heard anything about the World Wide Web and have never seen it.
Musical groups
Listening to foreign music within North Korea is quite difficult. Local groups are common there, which perform at all concerts. Everything else is prohibited.
True, once an exception was made for the Slovenian group Laibach. This group successfully performed in a censored country. Other did not have such honor. But the “Beatles ” records are stored in the North Korean Museum.
Foreign technology
If we have the opportunity to choose between hundreds of brands producing equipment daily. Koreans do not have such an opportunity.
What has been produced in their country is what they use. Tablets, laptops, phones — all locally produced. And it cannot be otherwise. No choice.
Cars and motorcycles
Only members of the ruling family and senior officials can have a personal car in a strict country. The same goes for expensive motorcycles.
Ordinary citizens have to walk. Sometimes they are lucky to buy a moped. Here on mopeds they transport bulky goods, for example, refrigerators. Or they carry heavy boxes in carts, pushing them in front of them.
Hairdryer Catalog
There is a catalog of 18 female and 15 male hairstyles in hairdressing companies in Korea. All these hairstyles were approved by the head of state. There is no direct ban on getting a haircut otherwise, but no one dares to violate this “recommendation ”.
Kim Jong-un's hairstyle is different from those men's haircuts that are presented in this catalog. And none of the ordinary citizens has the right to cut their hair as the leader of the country.
Still in North Korea, it's pretty hard to buy hair dye. Dyeing hair is prohibited. Therefore, dyes are not on sale and in hairdressing salons.
Contraception
Another ban in a closed state — contraception. Buying condoms there is quite difficult. In ordinary pharmacies and stores they are not sold.
But you can purchase rubber products on the “black market ” semi-legally. The party’s policy in Korea is this: population growth is needed. Therefore, people do not need to be protected, according to politicians.
Apartments in property
Koreans do not have the right to buy apartments, plots or houses in their home country. All this is provided by the state. All real estate is owned by the state. And apartments are allocated to people where the state will indicate.
Due to the strict reference to the place of residence, it is forbidden for Koreans to move freely between cities. Few citizens can live in the capital. The rest, in order to go to a neighboring city, must take leave from their superiors at work and notify the administration.
Still North Korean citizens are prohibited from traveling abroad. Only the most trustworthy citizens can work abroad, the biography of which is carefully studied by the state. There are many more prohibitions in a closed country than listed above. There are no fashionable magazines from abroad in the DPRK, and with the help of cell phones you can’t call relatives abroad. All telephony is also under state control.
So live the DPRK citizens torn from the whole world “Iron Curtain ”. And to be honest, many of them like this life. Although there are those who are trying with all their might to break out of the country. But if the Korean escapes, they will punish his relatives. In places, life in the DPRK resembles the way of the Soviet Union. Although there was definitely more freedom in the Union. Would you be able to live like that?
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