No matter how hard the Kim Jong Il regime tries to block the eyes and ears of the North Korean citizens with decrees and regulations, the spirit of the times will not be tamed. In particular, teenagers play the role of pioneers able to integrate diverse cultures and transmitters of information in their country.
▲ Will I become an outcast if I cannot follow the trends or keep up with the competition?
At the end of the 1980s, the style of clothing that was most popular among North Korean female middle school students and women in their 20s was a Soviet-made checkered jumper with a faux-French label. In fact, although it looked like a jumper, the item was actually a dress, and was distinguishable by its black and blue checkered pattern.
This item, which could only be purchased with foreign currency, initially cost 800 won, but subsequently rose to 1,500 won. In poor households, getting one’s hands on the jumper was unfathomable and, in more affluent homes, it was a prized possession. In homes where the members of the household could barely eat three meals a day, parents were subjected to daily harassment by their children.
Back in the days when a kilogram of rice cost between five and eight won and the North Korean-made “Ssangma” sewing machine cost just 1,500 won, the fact that an item of clothing could cost just as much was shocking. However, many middle school student and women in their 20s went wild over it and ended up buying it regardless.
Even though some students came from homes with leaking roofs, where eating corn rice was a luxury and parents dressed in rags, they still donned the high-priced checkered jumpers. It was not until the beginning of the 1990s when a similar checkered jumper was produced in China that the price dropped and it went out of fashion.
Even the workout pants and t-shirt worn by Im Soo Kyung, who came to Pyongyang for the “13th World Festival of Youth and Students” in 1989, became a huge hit, according to defectors.
However, the era when clothing was at the root of the trends the 1980s, also described in the North as the “bygone era of Communism.”
From a certain perspective, it is probably not too far-fetched to say that there exists no other group of people living in a completely closed society who are as conscious of trends as young North Koreans. However, the “trends” in North Korea differ slightly from the usual trends in capitalist countries.
For example, North Korean people are especially sensitive to accessories.
North Korean citizens are not only sensitive to the style of their clothing or shoes, but also the brands of their accessories such as bicycles and MP3 players.
The reason behind the North Korean special emphasis on such items is apparent in the North Korean adage, “What one eats is not as important as what one wears.” It is not particularly evident whether one has eaten or not in the short term, but attire gives away the level of wealth in a household.
Just as household affluence is determined by the type of vehicle or house one owns in a capitalist society, the type of clothing or shoes that one wears, the particular brand of cigarettes in the pocket of a person or the kinds of objects one owns indicates the wealth of a person in North Korea and even decides the way in which a person is treated.
Two examples are the USB memory sticks and MP3 players which have started circulating there.
An inside source in North Korea testified, “Teenagers nowadays may not know how a computer works, but will carry at least one USB memory stick along with their keys. Middle school students living in cities have to own at least one MP3 player in order to be acknowledged as coming from a middle class background.”
So, in order to cement or exaggerate their social positions, youths go out and get an MP3 player, even if it means foregoing meals, and the parents who do not want to see their children getting alienated will save every penny to buy these ‘essential’ items.
