With Pungsan dog shows set for the end of the month, screenings to participate are underway in provinces across the country. The Pungsan dog, North Korea’s national dog, is a symbol of the country, and with authorities increasingly emphasizing public attachment to national symbols, participation in the shows has grown noticeably.
“Applications to participate in Pungsan dog shows were accepted from Sept. 25 to Oct. 4, and in North Pyongan Province, screenings are now underway at Sinuiju Zoo,” a source said recently. “Only purebred dogs two years or older can participate, and if your dog passes the screening, you can participate in dog shows nationwide, receive a certificate of merit — a ‘symbol of loyalty’ — and even get prize money.”
North Korea holds annual dog shows to preserve the purebred status of Pungsan dogs, which were designated the “national dog” in 2014. However, with authorities increasingly emphasizing public affection for national symbols, the dog shows are not simply contests but also major events to cultivate public patriotism.
The authorities are linking the Pungsan dog shows to public indoctrination efforts, conducting ideological education classes that equate efforts to preserve the Pungsan dog, a national symbol, with party loyalty.
“In the past, the shows were perfunctory events, but nowadays, with authorities equating affection for national symbols with patriotism, participation in the shows is considered an honor,” the source said. “If one gets a good score at the dog show, they not only get a certificate or prize money, but they are given perks like time off from work or work trips, so people are competing to go.”
About 10 people used to participate in such shows, but recently, the number has climbed to around 100, the source said.
Driving the boost in participation is the greater emphasis on the importance of national symbols since the enactment of the National Symbols Act in 2023.
North Korean authorities legally designated 10 national symbols — including the official name of the country, national emblem, national flag, national anthem, national language, national tree, national flower, national dog and national liquor — and have since called on all people to take pride in these symbols and actively protect them, treating them with solemnity.
Article 19 of the law deals with the Pungsan dog and calls on “agencies, enterprises, groups and individuals to protect the purebred status of the Pungsan dog, our national dog, which resembles the bravery and tenacity of the Korean people, and to raise them scientifically to increase their numbers.”
Meanwhile, the law lays out indoctrination efforts regarding national symbols. Authorities must use the symbols to cultivate love of the fatherland, or in other words, patriotism.
“Indoctrination activities to instill patriotism through national symbols are seen as a way to cultivate internal unity and regime solidarity,” the source said. “Because the state is intensifying its arguments equating affection for national symbols with patriotism, more and more people will participate in events like the Pungsan dog shows.”
