North Korean authorities are stepping up their crackdown on youth fashion and have begun targeting young people who copy Kim Jong Un’s clothing and hairstyles, especially those who wear loose-fitting trousers similar to his. The unexpected crackdown, which began in early August in the city of Chongjin, is being carried out by the Socialist Patriotic Youth League.
A source in North Hamgyong province, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Daily NK on Wednesday that young people in North Korea are calling the loose-fitting trousers, which offer much more leg room than other trousers, “the supreme leader’s trousers.”
The clothes worn by Kim Jong Un and his family members often become trends after appearing on television and in newspapers. Recently, Kim’s loose-fitting trousers have become so popular that students at major universities in Chongjin, including Chongjin Railway University and Chongjin Medical University, have begun wearing them.
However, sources say that since early August, the Socialist Patriotic Youth League organization has begun cracking down on young people wearing baggy trousers, claiming that “baggy trousers look good on a stocky person like the supreme leader, but not on people of small stature.”
“They crack down on shorts because they don’t fit the socialist lifestyle, but they just crack down on baggy pants without any explanation. But they just warn us not to wear them. They don’t publicly criticize us like they do when we wear tight pants or shorts,” he explained.
“The baggy pants, known as ‘supreme leader pants’, are so baggy they look like scarecrows, so Pyongyang appears concerned that such an image could be linked to Kim Jong Un and has launched a covert fashion crackdown on those who wear them.”
Kim Jong-un-style hairstyles are also subject to crackdown
Authorities are also cracking down on young people who have hairstyles like Kim’s.
“University students are being encouraged to have long sides and short top, cracking down on the so-called supreme leader’s hairstyle, which has the sides shaved close to the scalp and left long on top,” the source said.
The group behind the crackdown has yet to clearly explain its reasons for objecting to the hairstyle, but a source suggested they may think “calling it the ‘supreme leader’s hairstyle’ is problematic in itself.”
The source said some people felt “very confused” that “it was even problematic to follow the actions of the supreme leader.”
“When Kim Jong-il was in power, there was no ban on wearing windbreakers or platform shoes, but now they prohibit people from wearing see-through clothes like Kim Jong-un’s daughter, or baggy pants and leather jackets like Kim Jong-un himself. Now that they are cracking down on the supreme leader’s hairstyle, some whisper that they are trying to separate the bloodline of Mount Paektu from the people.”
Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China and other regions, whose identities remain anonymous for security reasons.
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