ht among themselves trying to catch just one more person.”
The worst? Clothing with English text.
On March 22, a Chongjin resident named Kim was stopped by an enforcement squad while out with his 7-year-old child, who was wearing clothing with English text printed on it. The squad detained Kim and his child for three hours before calling them to the city’s Socialist Patriotic Youth League office for another two hours of questioning….
“Clothing with English text is popular among young people, so when enforcement squads are around, they take backstreets to avoid getting caught,” the source said. “People will ultimately wear what they want, no matter how much you try forcing them to dress according to socialist lifestyles.”
North Korean authorities target “capitalist delinquent” clothing as an ideological test. Their primary targets are people not wearing badges with portraits of late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, along with those wearing jeans or clothing with English text.
Those caught face consequences ranging from writing self-criticism letters to public shaming via local broadcasts. In severe cases, they’re sentenced to forced labor.
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