- If you can think of it, it’s probably banned in North Korea. Unless it’s Kim Jong-Un.
The North Korean government is notorious for restricting the lives of its subjects, but not everything is banned in the country. For instance, divorce and hot dogs were legal in North Korea.
Were.
In his latest crackdown against insidious Western influence, Kim Jong-Un has set his sights on two wildly different things. As a New Year’s gift to his people, the dictator told them that eating hot dogs was now considered an act of treason.
And if the lack of meat tubes of questionable quality is tearing your marriage apart, well… We have more bad news for you. The despot also put his foot down on divorce, dictating that such a thing is absolutely not allowed.
After all, North Korea is a happy country. How could any marriage in the glorious Democratic People’s Republic be unhappy?
Treasonous Dogs!
Let’s start with the stranger ban of the two. During the first days of this year, Kim Jong-Un decreed hot dogs illegal.
Hot dogs (or frankfurters or wieners or whatever you want to call them) have recently been gaining immense popularity in North Korea — and it’s not too hard to see why. North Koreans don’t exactly have a lot of money or food, and hot dogs are an affordable and easy-to-cook source of (supposed) meat.
But if his people like something, that means Kim Jong-Un hates it. And so, the dictator stepped in to put an end to this source of readily available sustenance.
Alongside eating them, it is now illegal to sell hot dogs on the streets or to cook them at home. While we couldn’t confirm it officially, we suspect that even possessing a hot dog is a big no-no right now.
To make matters worse, we’re not talking about a misdemeanor here, either. According to the regime, hot dog consumption is equal to treason.
Anyone caught eating or selling hot dogs will earn a one-way ticket to North Korea’s infamous labor camps. In an incredible show of goodwill, though, the country’s government didn’t immediately send current hot dog vendors to the gulag.
They only sternly warned them that if they’re caught with another hot dog, the train is waiting.
Unacceptable Stew
Not only are hot dogs — as in, the sausage in a bun or a stick — banned, but even using them as an ingredient is now forbidden. Specifically, the North Korean government has targeted a dish called budae-jjigae.
Also known as “army base stew,” this dish was born in the 1950s in South Korea. Hungry locals put noodles, spam, hot dogs, kimchi, and chilies in a pot to create a spicy soup.
The dish has remained popular in the South since then, and it spread to North Korea in 2017. The northerners went ga-ga for it, which of course means that the government must crack down on it.
“Sales of budae-jjigae in the market have stopped. The police and market management have said anyone caught selling it will be shut down,” an anonymous vendor from a northern province near China’s border confirmed to The Sun.
The ultimate reason for the ban on both hot dogs and budae-jjigae lies in their origins. Since they both rely on an ingredient strongly associated with America, the Kim regime views them as eroding North Korea’s strong traditional values, such as…
Uh, venerating the Kim family?
A Couples’ Prison Camp Vacation
But you know what else is extremely American in Kim’s view? That’s right — divorce.
Now, even before this, divorce hasn’t exactly been acceptable to the North Korean regime. You could (and still can) legally file for divorce, but the spouse who submitted the application would get sent to a “labor training camp.”
In late 2024, however, Kim changed the rules. Now, if a couple files for a divorce, they both get a state-subsidized six-month trip to a hard labor facility.
Part of the reason for the decision is the rising number of divorces in North Korea. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the country’s already abysmal economy hard and the horrendous financial situation resulted in many failed marriages.
To try and stop the trend, the North Korean government put in place the “get divorced, go to a prison camp” program. Yet, people were still filing for divorce, so now they’ve expanded the draconian measure.
You know what, this just brought up a terrible thought. Imagine how horrible your life must be that you’re ready to file for a divorce knowing it’ll land you in a North Korean labor camp.