Tag: culture
North Korean beauty salons, saunas embrace premium services
North Korean beauty salons and sauna houses are increasingly rebranding themselves as premium service providers in 2026, bundling haircuts, massages, skin care treatments and...
Kim family fashion drives custom tailoring boom among North Korea’s wealthy...
Wealthy North Koreans are commissioning custom-tailored suits modeled on the outfits worn by Ri Sol Ju and Kim Ju Ae at official state appearances...
North Korea’s pet boom puts new spotlight on wealth gap
A growing number of North Korean people are keeping pets, fueling rising sales of specialized dog food, clothing and other supplies in 2026. Pet...
North Korea orders TV dramas to be more entertaining, tightening ideological...
North Korea's state film authority has issued a sweeping directive ordering its television drama production unit to make shows more entertaining and modern while...
North Korea’s private arts tutoring boom grows even as farm mobilization...
Some North Korean students in North Pyongan province are skipping compulsory farm labor duty this rice-planting season by securing enrollment in school arts performance...
North Korean military brigade caught using civilian ringers in arts competition
A North Korean military brigade stationed in South Hamgyong province has been caught infiltrating a soldiers' family arts competition with civilian participants, drawing a...
North Koreans mourn a holiday emptied by grave removal campaign
North Korea's grave removal campaign has drained one of the country's last traditional holidays of meaning, as North Koreans across North Pyongan province marked...
Youth weddings in North Korea go bare-bones as photo traditions fade
North Korea's youth weddings are getting smaller, cheaper, and in some cases, nearly invisible. Newlyweds across the country are increasingly skipping one of the...
N. Korea cracks down on ‘I love you’ as decadent expression
North Korea has stepped up crackdowns on young people's love letters, condemning the phrase "I love you" as a sign of "decadent lifestyles."
Officials from...
Coffee culture booms in N. Korea as wealthy shed modesty
Coffee shops have proliferated across North Korea in recent years, becoming common fixtures not only in Pyongyang and major cities but even in rural...
