North Korea Pop Culture

north korea is not known for welcoming popular culture 

• sought to keep western cultural influence out of the nation’s communist society

people who openly criticize the governement or leader can be seen as a threat and face severe punishment 

watching tv and listening to music from south korea is illegal 

• government makes it impossible for most north koreans to travel abroad or freely experience foreign movies or books 

• under kim jong un, north korea is taking steps towards its own pop culture  from music, tv, film and fashion 

despite heavy restrictions, north koreans are still experiencing foreign pop influences 

• could be an attempt to keep up with south korea and the rest of the world 

• changes include the all female group, moranbang who wear stylish clothing that shows off their bodies, shoes designed to look like jordans or other popular shoes

• changes in north korean television included a lot of propaganda and documentaries with high praise for north korean leaders 

  • improvement in production values