Skinny jeans, mullets and nose piercings. What do they have in common? According to the government of North Korea, they’re all indications of a “capitalistic lifestyle” and are therefore bad. And, based on a new report at Insider, Kim Jong-un’s government has taken steps to ban all 3 within the confines of the nation he governs. And while the idea of a mullet being declared illegal is deeply surreal on first glance, North Korea is also a country where losing a soccer game can lead to imprisonment — making this new edict a lot more alarming than it initially seems.
The Insider article notes that Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, recently published an article critiquing younger citizens for adopting Western methods of dress. This has led to a ban on numerous haircuts, with — according to one report — only 15 hairstyles being deemed appropriately “socialist” for residents of North Korea to wear.
The ban also extends to things like piercings and branded t-shirts. According to the article, members of a nationwide youth organization will be tasked with enforcing these new laws. The whole thing makes for decidedly unsettling reading — and the most ominous piece of news involving mullets that you’ll read all year.
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