
Major institutions in North Hamgyong province have received pins featuring only North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s image, with notably simplified distribution ceremonies that have been well-received by recipients.
At the provincial party school, 100 pins from the Central Committee’s Propaganda and Agitation Department were distributed on Oct. 18 in what a source described as an “easygoing” ceremony.
The source told Daily NK recently that the handover ceremonies dispensed with traditional formalities like pledge readings and discussions. Instead, recipients simply signed for their nicely packaged pins and were reminded not to lose them.
“The gifting of the pins is part of the department’s end-of-year plans to promote political stability and maintain regime loyalty,” the source said. “Nevertheless, many people reacted positively to the simplified ceremony.”
The streamlined approach marked a welcome departure from typically formal ceremonies full of what many view as empty ritual.
A day earlier, on Oct. 17, the Ninth Corps’ political and propaganda departments also received 100 pins from the General Political Bureau in a similarly simplified ceremony.