North Korea has launched a patriotic fashion range in a bizarre bid to brainwash its young into worshipping the regime – and it’s already backfiring.
Pyongyang propaganda says the range, which includes various shirts, hats and hoodies decorated with the country’s flag, is selling like hotcakes.
Kim Jong-un himself, who has overseen four missile tests in just a week, is thought to have approved the scheme.
But now several students in the port city of Nampo are in hot water after using the shirts as rags while polishing statues of the Kim family.
Even though the shirts were worn out, the youths were reported to the ruling party, according to South Korea-based newspaper, Daily NK.
They were then called in and questioned, made to write self-criticism letters, and their parents’ workplaces were notified of their actions, the paper alleged.
One youth who complained about his punishment was kicked out of school and sent to a forced labour camp without trial, a local source said.
Now people been warned not to bin any flag-adorned clothes that wear out, but to return them at specified government facilities.
“If clothes made from sacred cloth imprinted with the national flag frays, you need to bring them to a purchase centre as waste fabric,” a source in Nampo told Daily NK.
“They got in trouble because they used them as damp cloths.
“It became a serious political matter because the authorities took issue with their attitude and view of the flag, and with how the young generation views the nation.”
The man also described the remarks of the jailed student.
He reportedly said: “Even clothing with the North Korean flag is just a rag when it’s all worn out.
“I didn’t even use it to clean my house, but to clean up statues [of North Korea’s leaders]. Is that something I need to write a self-criticism letter for?”
The youth, who was also rebuked for his relationship with a female student, was then branded a “born reprobate” and jailed.
Those who avoided the gulag are considered to have got off lightly.
The source continued: “The party said it was the first time this problem had emerged, but because it wasn’t something worth trying them for, the party made them aware of their mistake and had them write self-criticism letters.”
Nonetheless, North Koreans are now said to be shunning the patriotic fashion range.
“Perhaps because of this, some people even say it’s better not to buy clothing with the North Korean flag,” the source said.
The Kim regime has grown increasingly paranoid about its younger generation, warning them to avoid any cultural influences from neighbouring South Korea.
Greg Scarlatoiu, director of the Washington DC-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, said it was a losing battle.
He said: “Despite the regime's efforts to block information from the outside world, increasing numbers of young North Koreans have access to K-pop, K-dramas and American movies.
“Undoubtedly, the younger generation is more skeptical of the regime.
“But the regime's propaganda, surveillance, and oppression continue to suffocate the people of North Korea.
“That said, in my view, the mentality of young North Koreans is changing, slowly, surely, and steadily.”
Markus Bell, a North Korea analyst and research fellow at Australia’s La Trobe University, was more sceptical.
“I don't think that this incident is representative of the younger North Korean generation having little or less respect for the country or the leadership,” he said.
But he questioned the value of the clothes as a propaganda tool.
“It's doubtful that these T-shirts inspire a feeling of patriotism in the wearer,” he continued.
“North Koreans are inculcated with nationalist propaganda from a very young age, adding a T-shirt into the mix is unlikely to make much difference.”
The new clothing range, which reportedly comprises 70 different items, has enjoyed product placement in several North Korean media reports since its debut.
For example, in separate articles written about two different factories, staff were photographed wearing the clothes while comparing their productivity levels.
