North Korea cracks down on clothing: ``skinny denim cut off'' = South Korean report

In North Korea, women have begun earning wages in open-air markets, and their status within the household has risen to some extent, but it has become clear that gender equality is still far from being achieved in North Korean society.
According to the results of interviews with North Korean defectors published in the ``Report on North Korea's Economic and Social Conditions'' released by South Korea's Ministry of Unification on the 6th, defectors who left North Korea between 2016 and 2020 found that ``market Activities are at home
Regarding the impact on women's status, 30% answered that their status has become equal to or higher than that of their husbands, and 45.9% said their status has increased somewhat.
Due to these changes in the social situation in North Korea, North Korean defectors are compared to husbands who are troublesome and useless, like ``barking dogs'' and ``daytime lights.''
I told them that it might happen. The Ministry of Unification believes that although gender equality in the North Korean household has improved considerably, since the Kim Jung Eun administration has come into power, it has emphasized the ``traditional image of womanhood'' for women, and
According to the analysis, gender equality is still far away. Chairman Kim Jong-un emphasizes that women must maintain an elegant cultural and moral appearance and recommends that they wear ``Hanbok'' on a daily basis.
I was told. Mr. A, who defected from North Korea in 2018, said, ``I heard that if you wear tight-fitting denim like skinny jeans, you will be subject to clothing control and punished. Your pants may be torn or cut.''
"I will," he testified. The Ministry of Unification interpreted this as ``North Korean authorities are wary of the tendency of women who have embarked on economic activities to take on modern, proactive behavior rather than the traditional forms of the past.''
Ta. Furthermore, although divorce is on the rise due to changes in the North Korean family and society, divorce still appears to act as a strong social prejudice.
North Korean authorities view divorce as a disease of capitalist society rather than a simple family issue.
North Korean defectors testified that the party, political, and military elites would put them at a disadvantage in terms of personnel if they divorced, such as being demoted to a construction site.
Children cannot avoid disadvantage either. Mr. B, who defected from North Korea in 2019, said, ``There was a good (marriage) place for a daughter whose parents divorced.
However, since my parents divorced, I was no longer able to get married.'' The Ministry of Unification stated in its report, ``Not only is divorce still viewed negatively socio-culturally in North Korea, but women in particular are more likely to divorce than men.
It will be received even more negatively."