North Korea has instructed parents to assign patriotic names to their children such as "bomb", "gun" and "satellite" as Pyongyang cracks down on the use of names the government deems too soft.
Previously, the communist government allowed citizens to use names more affectionate names such as A Ri (loved one) and Su Mi (super beauty), similar to South Korea.
But now the government has ordered that people with these types of names have them changed to more patriotic and ideological monikers.
Kim Jong-un wants parents to give their children names with a final consonant and has threatened to fine those who do not comply, reportedly believing that names without a final consonant are "anti-socialist".
Examples include Pok Il (bomb), Chung Sim (loyalty) and Ui Song (satellite).
Speaking to Radio Free Asia (RFA), one anonymous resident said: "Residents are complaining that the authorities are forcing people to change their names according to the standards required by the state.
"Starting last month, notices have been constantly issued at the neighbourhood-watch unit's residents' meetings to correct all names without final consonants.
"People with names that don't have a final consonant have until the end of the year to add political meanings to their name to meet revolutionary standards."
The source said they wondered whether the government was introducing the new rule so that the new generation's name would reflect the "current era of starvation and oppression".
They added that the matter is being raised on a regular basis at local meetings.
"The order of the judicial authority to immediately change anti-socialist names has been emphasized at every residents' meeting since October,” they said.
North Korean officials say that names must not be similar to those in South Korea, as tensions continue to rise between the two countries following a spate of missile tests conducted by the North along the contested border region.
Another source told RFA that the North Korean government believes the name trend in South Korea is “a copy of the decadent Western Yankee culture" and wants to replace it with a more militaristic naming of its own citizens.
"Authorities criticized multiple generations of families for not hesitating to name their children with a mixture of Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean names rather than North Korean ones,” they added.
In response, the source said, locals have been joking about taking names such as Yong Chol, Man Bok or Sun Hui, which roughly translate to old-fashioned names such as Gladys, Mildred, or Eustace.
