A growing polarization in wedding trends is
\nbecoming more evident in North Korea due to the disparity between the rich and
\npoor. With wedding season approaching, a lot of couples are tying the knot, but
\nthe differences in celebrations are stark, Daily NK has learned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring She added that the disparity is patent even \u201cThe most that the average person can serve Children of Party cadres or the donju<\/i> pay \u201cThis growing popularity of stand-up comedians There have been a few incidents wherein Party cadres have been removed from their posts for hosting such elaborate A growing polarization in wedding trends is becoming more evident in North Korea due to the disparity between the rich and poor. With wedding season approaching, a lot of couples are tying the knot, but the differences in celebrations are stark, Daily NK has learned. \u201cDuring spring, you can see a lot of couples holding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":30357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[645],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nspring, you can see a lot of couples holding weddings and receiving blessings
\nin their villages,\u201d a source in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK on March 26th. \u201cPoor people
\nwear cheap hanbok<\/i> [Korean traditional attire] from local markets in their
\nwedding photos, while couples part of the donju<\/i> [new affluent middle class] spend 150 USD
\non hanbok <\/i>or western suits, and they even ride around in a Mercedes that they\u2019ve
\nrented out for photo shoots.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n
\nin their evening celebrations. Those from lower income families light candles and
\nentertain their guests in dimly lit rooms, whereas the rich pay dollars to
\nlocal power plants and sing with karaoke machines.<\/span><\/p>\n
\ntheir guests is a lot of rice cakes and Onban<\/i> [pork broth with rice]. But the
\nrich order food and drinks from other countries with dollars and serve wine to
\ntheir guests,\u201d the source said. \u201cSometimes, in order to make the wedding more
\nlively and fun, they hire professional singers and actors with dollars as well.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\nat least 100 USD to invite a professional singer or pianist on their weddings
\nor birthdays. Thanks to the rise in popularity of comedians in the recent
\nyears, inviting them to events now costs even more than singers or pianists,
\naccording to the source. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nstarted when actor Lee Chun Hong from Pyongyang Laughter Theater was invited to do his act at a birthday party for the owner of Sinuiju Market,” she said, adding that after audio of the show was made available on CD, the popularity of stand-up comedians for events surged–by 2010, this popularity overshadowed that of musical acts.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nWestern-style weddings for their children, according to policies handed down
\nfrom the Central Party trying to crack down on corruption and ensuing
\nextravagance, according to the source. She added that children of cadres above the provincial Party level are said to have been holding simple weddings since, but that this practice is “all for show and extravagant weddings are still being carried out in secret. “<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"