SEOUL, April 18 (UPI) — North Korea is cracking down on youth who dye their hair, flaunt body piercings or wear tight-fitting clothing.
The enforcement of stricter dress codes is part of a mass movement the state is organizing in a runup to the Seventh Party Congress to be held May 7, Japanese news service Asia Press reported.
“A growing number of North Korean people are infatuated with Western culture,” said Asia Press founder Jiro Ishimaru.
“The crackdown will continue until the end of the upcoming gathering.”
The movement is being organized by the North Korean Youth Union, headed by North Korean teens and youth groups. Volunteers are age 15 or older, The Telegraph reported.
North Korea’s negative response to the rise of youth fashion trends is not new.
Last July, the state denounced the United States, Japan and South Korea for the “toxins of capitalism” infiltrating the country.
“We must cast a two-fold, or three-fold mosquito net to keep out the toxins of capitalism,” Pyongyang had said.
The dying of hair, piercings and tight clothing that accentuate women’s curves are considered capitalist trends that are not being tolerated by the Korean Workers’ Party, South Korean newspaper Donga Ilbo reported.
Women have also been forbidden from putting their hair up in a ponytail, a symptom of “capitalist culture,” according to various sources.
Jeans are not allowed, and while earrings are not banned, piercings on any other part of the body are to be prohibited, according to Asia Press.
