The North Hamgyong Province branch of the Non-Socialist and Anti-Socialist Unified Command (below: “Unified Command”) recently launched a province-wide crackdown on illegal activity at print shops and photo studios, Daily NK has learned.
“Since Mar. 23, the Unified Command has been carrying out a week-long, province-wide campaign to inspect print shops, photo studios, and anyone registered as owning a digital camera, as well as university libraries, computer rooms and college students’ personal laptops,” a reporting partner in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Mar. 29, speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
According to the reporting partner, this marks the first such crackdown since the enactment of the Pyongyang Cultural Language Protection Act in January of this year. The Unified Command warned that the government has “been patient in the past and given offenders chances to reflect and overcome [their improper behavior], but [going forward] those who fail to take the nation’s laws seriously will be taught a harsh lesson about [the power] of the law.”
The Unified Command announced that it had launched this wave of inspections in response to people openly using print shops to stamp their wares with illegal trademarks and selling materials they had printed or copied without government permission.
Photo studios have also come under scrutiny. Photo studios and individuals with cameras are permitted to take photos to celebrate special occasions like an infant’s 100th day ceremony, weddings, hwangap (a person’s 60th birthday) celebrations, and other birthday celebrations. However, pictures taken against backdrops of Hawaii or other foreign vacation locales, high-rise skylines, or South Korean cars are prohibited, and the authorities have announced they are cracking down on individuals taking these kinds of pictures.
For those caught in this round of non-socialist and anti-socialist inspections, the authorities are not only confiscating the equipment used in the illegal activities, but also all money and assets deemed to have been earned in the course of the alleged crimes, the reporting partner said.
“Many people have been arrested since the beginning of the raids and are being interrogated in detention centers. [The Unified Command] suspended university classes and raided dormitories, taking away a lot of university students in the process.”
The reporting partner added: “Students said that the way the Unified Command was indiscriminately cracking down on them was akin to ‘fiery-eyed, growling demons hunting for young people to eat’ or ‘Japanese policemen [in the Japanese colonial era] running wild to catch students protesting for independence.’”
Translated by Rose Adams. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
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