In North Korea, personal freedoms are a distant reality, especially for women who live under some of the world’s strictest regulations. Far beyond controlling political thought, the North Korean Communist dictatorship enforces a comprehensive set of rules dictating how women should dress, behave, and even express emotion.

From government-assigned dress codes to bans on shorts and even restrictions on smiling during national mourning, the state’s grip on individuality is absolute. Each regulation, however odd it may seem to outsiders, serves a purpose in the eyes of the regime: to reinforce ideological conformity and minimize any potential influences of the outside world.

1. Government Enforced Dress Code

Women’s clothing choices in North Korea are tightly controlled by a government sanctioned body known as the ‘Fashion Police.’ This is an organization within the regime’s youth wing that enforces dress codes that attempt to embody socialist ideals of modesty and nationalism. This usually means women wearing conservative clothing usually skirts or dresses in muted colors.

Black and gray are common, but some younger women in the capital, Pyongyang, experiment with color, using pink, purple or white, for example, for tailored outfits. However, Western style clothing is absolutely forbidden, as is clothing with Roman characters or other obvious foreign symbols.

Even high heels and bags, which are technically allowed, are carefully monitored as part of the government’s grip on women’s fashion. Stiletto heels are only worn by those in prominent public facing roles, such as waitresses or performers, and these styles are usually only in simple black or brown.

Fashionable items such as purses sometimes appear among the urban elite, but they are usually fake imports from China, since genuine foreign goods are mostly under sanctions.

Appearance is not just uniform but demanded, and the rules go beyond the civilian to work specific clothing. In the capital, uniforms vary by occupation: In roles such as traffic control, women in prim blue suits and practical shoes; workers in daycare facilities wear white dresses resembling retro nurse uniforms.

As a subtle but powerful symbol of loyalty, every citizen is required to wear a pin with one or both of the previous leaders, Kim Il-sung or Kim Jong-il, on their lapel.

Fashion is an outward expression of devotion to the regime and an outward expression of the state’s control over fashion. For North Korean women, fashion is about as much about self-expression as it is a marker of loyalty to a political doctrine that doesn’t tolerate much deviation. Dressing, an act as simple as it is, is dictated by the government, reminding us in North Korea that even the most personal choices are bound by the state’s overarching narrative.

2. The Ban on Shorts

Wearing shorts, especially for women, in North Korea is more than a fashion statement; it’s a direct insult against the Communist Party’s ideological stance against capitalist influences. Shorts, especially those above the knee, are a symbol of Western, “anti-socialist” decadence in Kim Jong-un’s regime.

If a woman breaks this rule, she will be punished seriously: public criticism, writing self-criticism statements, and signing documents threatening legal action for repeat offences. The sexist undercurrent in this regulation is reported to be that women often wonder why the ban is enforced so stringently against them. At the same time, men are generally free to wear shorts.

The short ban is in keeping with the regime’s strict policies against Western and South Korean cultural imports, including clothing styles, media, slang and even particular haircuts. Other ‘capitalist’ behaviors, including wearing tight pants or dying hair in bright colors, are banned as ‘delinquent’ actions that go against ‘North Korean style.’

This rhetoric points to the state’s view that personal choices, especially for women, are a reflection of one’s loyalty — or lack thereof — to the regime’s socialist values.

Wearing shorts is especially punished during hot summer months when temperatures regularly exceed 30°C (86°F). Women have no choice but to comply because if they don’t, the consequences are labor camp sentences for repeat offences.

It also highlights the role that women are seen to play by the state as cultural and moral guardians of Communist ideals. Authorities fear that even small acts of defiance in women’s clothing could inspire broader resistance.

3. The Smiling Ban

The absolute prohibition on smiling or any expression of joy is one of the most unusual restrictions imposed on North Korean women during designated mourning periods. Most strictly, this rule applies on July 8th, the day of the death of Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea.

Today is when all public displays of happiness, such as smiling and laughing, are considered severe breaches of respect. There is such a reverence for this day that any perceived disrespect can result in imprisonment or worse.

This is not a one-day restriction. The state often imposes prolonged mourning phases of up to 12 days for significant anniversaries, such as the 10th and 20th of the deaths of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. During these times, the state prohibits its citizens from doing anything remotely resembling celebrations, from birthdays, to drinking, to shopping.

Police enforcement is intense. Officers are assigned to closely monitor compliance with orders to detain any citizen caught flouting these prohibitions. Sirens across the capital can be heard as citizens across Pyongyang bowed their heads in silence for three minutes during the 10th anniversary of Kim Jong-il’s death, as all transport from cars to trains joined in a synchronized act of reverence by sounding their horns.

The rule is especially jarring for women, who are often expected to be warm and supportive within their families. These mourning periods are marked by the smiling ban, forcing them to suppress their emotions in ways that counter natural social expectations. This is a measure that the state enforces to make sure that personal sentiments remain very close to the regime’s ideological priorities.

4. State-Assigned Jobs for Life

In North Korea, women are not free to choose their career paths just like men. Instead, the state dictates what jobs a woman should do and then, once given, a woman is expected to stay in that job for life. A lack of choice kills any personal ambition or desire to follow a passion, as careers are not about personal fulfilment but about serving the collective needs of the regime.

The state is precise in calculating how many people are needed in what sectors and regions and assigning roles accordingly. This may mean working in labor-intensive fields such as agriculture or manufacturing for many women, even if they have skills or aspirations for other careers.

This system not only restricts women’s chances but also reinforces the government’s control over its citizens by dictating their professional lives. North Korean women live in a country where personal agency is severely restricted and face a future where their career is dictated not by their desires but by the state’s.

5. Restrictions on Hair Color

Personal appearance choices such as hair color and style are strictly regulated in North Korea, and even these choices are controlled by the government to force a rigid aesthetic that reflects state ideology and suppresses any form of self-expression. Women, in particular, face stringent rules regarding hair color.

It is permissible to use only natural shades, primarily black or brown. Brighter hues, such as blonde or red, are banned by the state, as these colors are seen as symbols of capitalist and Western influences that the regime wants to eradicate to keep its uniform, controlled society.

The list of forbidden fashion choices for women includes hairstyles, which the state has sanctioned about 15 conservative and boring cuts. Unauthorized hairstyles, such as the ‘rooster’ (a high ponytail with a side swept fringe), are prohibited. Such styles can be punished for women who wear them with severe penalties, including forced head shaving, public shaming, or six months in labor.

The state also bans jeans, sleeveless tops, tight clothes and T-shirts from foreign brands. It’s not just about appearance; this enforcement is about limiting individuality and preventing deviations that might disrupt the strict societal homogeneity North Korea wants to maintain.

Clothing materials and styles are also under the state’s grip. Public events often require traditional attire, which is called ‘Choson-ot,’ and clothing choices are simple, austere and modest. Anything that smells like capitalist trends is ideologically corrosive and is meticulously purged of Western influences.

The impact of these regulations is felt even in family and personal spaces. If national mourning periods can last as long as 12 days, women cannot indulge in personal celebrations such as birthdays.

And in these times, expressions of joy and celebration are not allowed, and even smiling can land you in prison. This, then, demonstrates how deeply the regime enforces ideological loyalty through control over the most personal aspects of life, and as a result women’s daily lives are heavily regulated.

Written By: Beyond Truth
This article was originally published on medium.