When it comes to North Korea, the first impression to the outside world is that it is very orderly, very clean, and the people are simple and optimistic.
The second is that the welfare is particularly good, and there are eight free policies that are well-known to everyone, which are free childbirth, free medical care, free education, free housing, free pension, free funeral, free entertainment activities and free sports and fitness.
Of course, in order to enjoy these benefits, we must also abide by some regulations of the DPRK, and there are five strange regulations in the DPRK that cannot be touched in any case, otherwise there is a risk of "losing your life".
So, what are these regulations? Let's talk about it today.
Rules for couples
We all know that the family, as the smallest unit of society, requires the fidelity of both men and women to their marriage.
In order to ensure the stability of the marital relationship, to maintain the concept of marriage, and more importantly, to maintain social stability and inherit the traditional moral concepts of the country, the DPRK advocates premarital purity and the sanctity of marriage.
Based on traditional concepts of marriage and social values, the government prohibits unmarried cohabitation, which means that couples are not allowed to have sex before marriage, and lovers must return to their respective residences at a specified time in the evening.
At the same time, North Korea has also introduced a policy, that is, couples can only legally apply for and enjoy the state-allocated house after completing the official marriage registration and obtaining the marriage certificate, otherwise they will not be able to obtain a marriage house.
Men and women who are not married and want to live together cannot rent a house or stay in a hotel because they do not have a marriage certificate. This article also brings a lot of inconvenience to foreign tourists, foreign tourists of the opposite sex also need to provide a marriage certificate to stay in a hotel, otherwise they can only open a room for one person.
In addition to not allowing premarital cohabitation, behaviors such as holding hands before marriage are also not allowed, most of their acquaintances are introduced through matchmakers, and few of them fall in love by themselves.
If a relationship is not allowed by the elders of the family, a man and a woman cannot marry. If there are individual cases of premarital cohabitation, in addition to being severely punished, the parents of the family will also be pointed at by others.
In North Korea, women are usually not allowed to ask for a bride price from a man, and you may say that there may be "unspoken rules" behind it, and if they are discovered, they will be punished. In addition, the reception of the man and woman on the day of their wedding is also the responsibility of both the man and the woman.
Regulations on jeans
North Korea also has strict control over fashion, banning Western fashion elements, and North Korean high-level officials believe that wearing clothing with Western elements will shake people's feelings for North Korea, so they restrict people's free choice of clothing.
Among these garments is jeans, which date back to the mid-19th century when Jew Levi Strauss invented them to meet the demands of miners during the Gold Rush in California, USA.
Therefore, the North Korean government considers jeans to be a symbol of Western culture, especially American culture, as a product of capitalism.
Under North Korea's socialist system, symbols of capitalism may be seen as a provocation and insult to the North Korean system, so wearing jeans is considered a political urge.
If you insist on wearing it, you may be criticized at least or even arrested in serious cases.
In 1950, the United States also launched a war against North Korea, so North Korea was very resistant to American culture, and out of political and cultural considerations, the North Korean government simply banned the wearing of jeans in the country.
In North Korea's unique social context, if there is no regulation of clothing, it may lead to inequality among people and create social class tensions, so people must wear clothing that is in line with the policy.
So what do North Koreans usually wear? Generally wear ordinary and conservative clothing, and more are "military pants, party pants, and school pants" that meet the policy regulations, which we can also see in many film and television dramas.
For example, unmarried women are called "new skirts", married women are called "old skirts", divorced women are called "broken skirts", and men are called "pants".
Regulations for taking pictures
As long as conditions permit in modern society, almost everyone has a mobile phone, and the wide application of mobile phones has brought us great convenience, whether it is ordinary payment, or the beautiful moments recorded when traveling are inseparable from mobile phones, but the North Korean government prohibits people from taking pictures.
The DPRK government is worried that the release of photos taken by people abroad will spread unfavorable information about the DPRK, and that some hostile forces abroad will use these photos to create some false images to smear the image of the DPRK.
In order to maintain the image of the country and social control, tourists are not allowed to take photos and videos at will.
There are not many attractions open to foreign tourists in North Korea, and it is strictly forbidden to take photos of military facilities and representative buildings such as soldiers, security guards, and important facilities related to military and communications in these places.
Military areas, for example, are areas where filming is strictly prohibited, and if discovered, they can be punished and even arrested and prosecuted.
Some tourists are lucky and think that the mobile phone is their personal belonging, so they will still snatch it, this idea is wrong.
Because when you hold up your phone in North Korea, you will be taken away, check for anything that should not be filmed, criticize and educate you, and control it as a spy, North Korean law enforcement officials have the right to check the mobile phones of all tourists, which is mandatory.
In addition, when you leave North Korea, customs officers will check your electronic device again to make sure that there is no damage to North Korea's image before letting you go, and if it is found, it will also be dealt with.
An American tourist, Alto, was once controlled as an American spy and sentenced to 15 years in prison for not complying with North Korean regulations.
After the United States tried to save him, Alto was finally released seventeen months later, but unfortunately died just seven days after returning home.
Photographer Eric Lafforgue is also a striking example, having been to North Korea six times and taking many beautiful photos and images.
However, because some of the photos violated North Korean propaganda policies, they were eventually found and permanently banned from entering North Korea.
Hairstyle rules, curfew rules
It is said that "everyone has a love for beauty", but in North Korea, it is okay to love beauty, but it needs to be within the scope of the law, even if it is a small hairstyle.
For hairstyles, residents of North Korea cannot choose their own hairstyles, so they can only choose from 15 officially prescribed hairstyles.
As early as 2013, North Korea's leaders had stipulated 28 legal hairstyles, among which only 10 were for men, and the length of the haircut could not exceed 5 centimeters, and the elderly could be graced to 7 centimeters.
There are eighteen types of women, including straight hair and curly hair, and generally there is a difference between married women and unmarried women, with married women having shorter hairstyles and unmarried women usually wearing braids.
Finally, after several years of practical testing, it was finally established that there are 15 standard hairstyles for men and women.
In addition to this, it is also not possible to dye hair freely in North Korea, because they consider it a symbol of capitalism, and these regulations are to ensure control over the population and the unity of the Socialist Party and avoid personalized expression.
Barber shops in North Korea are state-owned enterprises, and the state will issue certain haircut coupons, and residents with haircut coupons can enjoy free haircut services, which is also to a certain extent the behavior of residents who dye and perm their hair in violation of regulations.
It not only meets the needs of the people, but also ensures the living space of the barber, which may seem incredible to you, but it is more in line with the national conditions of North Korea.
In ancient times, due to the needs of social stability, the mainland would implement a certain curfew system, which roughly meant that you could not go out at will.
After the Xinhai Revolution, the curfew system was abolished on the mainland, but there is still a curfew system in North Korea.
During the specified time at night, except for the soldiers in charge of patrols and some people with special occupations, the rest of the people are not allowed to travel on the streets.
North Koreans believe that banning people from going out at night can avoid many social security problems and reduce social contradictions and conflicts.
This measure also reduces the contact between the population and the outside world and reduces the dissemination of information. North Korea's entertainment life is not rich because since the Korean War, they have been constrained by the United States and other countries, resulting in domestic economic development has been hindered.
In order to safeguard national sovereignty, the DPRK has always regarded national defense and military construction as the main direction of development, and naturally ignores the development of the entertainment industry.
The duration of the curfew is not static, but is set according to seasonal changes, generally from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. in the summer, and from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m. in the winter.
In the eyes of many people, North Korea is a closed country, but this is not the case. North Korea has long been open for tourism, but there are restrictions in many ways, and you can enter as long as you follow their rules.
Compared with other countries, North Korean tourism has several obvious advantages, such as lower travel costs and close distance. Of course, there are some inconveniences, such as the five strange rules listed in the article.
Therefore, when you have a trip to North Korea, you need to be prepared to deal with inconveniences, and the most important thing is to abide by the relevant local regulations to avoid unnecessary trouble for yourself, otherwise you may be like the American tourist Alto.
What do you think differently about this?
Resources:
When traveling to North Korea in a group, keep in mind the ten taboos
https://fashion.ifeng.com/travel/place/detail_2010_04/13/522335_0.shtml
What does a barbershop look like on the streets of North Korea?
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