WARNING

North Koreans Warned Against Using South Korean Slang or Style

As foreign media continues to be smuggled in, the hermit kingdom is threatening its citizens with imprisonment or even execution if they imitate trends from other cultures.

Amid Kim Jong Un’s crusade against “cancerous” K-Pop, North Korean state media is now warning citizens against taking part in other South Korean trends in an effort to rid the hermit kingdom of any foreign influence. Anyone using South Korean slang, or wearing its hair sytles, risks jail time or even execution, according to Rodong Sinmun newspaper. The state-sanctioned paper said that the Pyongyang dialect is superior and that slang such as “oppa” — which means "older brother" but is commonly used by young women when referring to their boyfriends — should be discouraged. Despite North Korea's best efforts, foreign media provided by smuggling rings has played a part in many defectors’ decision to escape. Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told the Korea Herald that Kim "knows that these cultural aspects could impose a burden on the system. So by stamping them out, Kim is trying to prevent further troubles in the future."