Until just a few years ago, women wearing
bras was considered a “delinquent capitalist trend” for older women in North Korea, but now even women in their 50s and
60s favor the habit, a local source told the Daily NK. Residents take this as a sign of womens’ increasing exposure to trends associated with
capitalism.
“Bras were thought to be only for young
women,” a source in North Pyongan Province told the
Daily NK on Monday. “But recently, women in the 50s and
even 60s buy them from markets and wear them,” she
explained.
In the past, women of this age faced
criticism if they chose to wear the supportive garments: in the North, where
roots of Confucianism still remain, wearing a bra was seen as a practice from
capitalist countries up until the late 1990s.
After the turn of the century, when foreign
products started to enter North Korean markets, and smuggled DVDs and CDs filled
with media content portraying South Korean culture became more pervasive, wearing
bras became a widespread practice among women in their 20s and 30s. However,
the older the age group, the less likely it was for women to wear them,
according to the source.
“Just five years ago, women in their 40s
would wear hanbok [loose-fitting traditional Korean garments] without
a bra and attend events or sell goods in the markets,”
the source said. “But now, it’s
not only on the streets, but also at markets, where women try to accentuate
their features and add more femininity.”
“If a woman in her 40s was wearing a bra,
it was considered fascinating, but now those in their 50s and 60s do so as
well, as wearing a bra is now seen as being part of an advanced culture that
respects femininity. Now there are even stalls at the markets that specialize
in bras,” she added.
In the past, bras were sold along with
other undergarments but not at a separate stall. However, with more consumers,
there are a larger number of options and designs for different age groups at these
specialized stalls. Some vendors even outfit mannequins with the bras to better showcase their products, according to the source.
The bras fetch anywhere from 5 RMB [0.82
USD] to 50 RMB [8.17 USD] in the general markets. The products that are more
resilient to washing and that come with pretty designs and colors are more
expensive. 1 RMB currently trades for 1,350 KPW [approximately 0.16 USD as of
November 6th] in most markets in North Korea.
Bras are also becoming popular options for
presents among couples and newlyweds, along with mobile phones, but she added
that while some men, mired in traditional concepts of male predominance, feel it degrades their status, many continue to change with the times and are eagerly trying to accept and follow trends.
