by Daniel Tudor
Ji-min Kang:
While growing up in Pyongyang, I never even heard the word “condom.” In the early days after my defection, I didn’t even know why condoms existed or how to use one. It was not a matter that I was particularly interested in. I didn’t even know where people bought condoms from.
The most shocking thing I saw in South Korea was nationwide sex education in schools. It was inconceivable to me that students could be taught about sex at school. It was so shocking to see female students being taught how to use condoms in the classroom. It was one aspect of a capitalist society I didn’t understand in my early days in South Korea.
The sex education one can find in South Korean and American schools doesn’t exist in the North. North Koreans aren’t taught about safe sex or birth control. Of course, North Korean teenagers become curious about sex during puberty, but there is no way to learn about safe sex. In North Korea, sex is another form of hedonism people aren’t allowed to know about or experience.
For the same reason, North Koreans aren’t allowed to watch porn, either. If you ever get caught watching porn in North Korea, you’re treated as a political prisoner and punished accordingly. Diplomats did bring home pornographic videos, which were then distributed among people in North Korea. But to watch one of those videos you have to be willing to risk your freedom. How many of you are willing to take that kind of risk to watch porn?
Because sex education doesn’t exist in the classrooms of North Korea, people are ignorant about safe sex and sexually transmitted diseases. Especially for women, getting a STD is one of the most humiliating things that can happen. Consequently, they suffer from it for a very long time rather than seeking medical help. Since people don’t even know about condoms and have almost no information about birth control, illegal and unsafe abortions are common. Due to the country’s financial crisis, the birth rate dropped while the death rate was on the rise. For that reason, the North Korean regime banned abortion. Yet, there were still some people who wanted abortions, and out of desperation, they went to illegal practitioners. Many women lost their lives due to these procedures.
I don’t know if people in North Korea know about condoms, or if they have access to them now. There’s a possibility that things may have changed since my defection. But while I was living in Pyongyang, condoms weren’t available for most people. They weren’t being produced at local factories or imported from other countries. Vasectomies didn’t exist in North Korea, either. The only form of birth control available was the coil (or loop).
A little while ago, I read a newspaper article about condoms being found in the backpacks of high school girls in North Korea. If that article is true—and only if it is true—this means North Korea has experienced a dramatic change in less than 10 years, even if only in Pyongyang. From 1995 onwards, the West provided humanitarian aid, including condoms. The goods ended up on the black market, but the condoms were mostly ignored. Most North Koreans couldn’t figure out what they were or how to use them.
During my high school days, one of my classmates had a father working at a hospital. One day, this classmate brought a bag full of condoms to school. Of course, we had no idea what they were. They looked like balloons to us, so we blew them up in the classroom. But, of course, they were slippery and wider than most balloons.
When I lived there, North Korea was a black hole without any information or knowledge about sex. The North Korean regime doesn’t allow any form of hedonism or pleasure for its people. The government thinks that its people don’t need to know about safe sex. Maybe they thought it would pose a threat to the regime if people enjoyed sex more freely. I can only hope that the people of North Korea will receive education about safe sex sooner rather than later.
Does North Korea have pornography?
DT: As mentioned in the opening essay, things seem to have changed since Yoo-sung left North Korea. These days, there are many young men in Pyongyang who trade Japanese and Chinese porn videos on USB sticks. If caught, they can normally get out of trouble by simply bribing the officer who caught them.
Kim Yoo-sung:
This may sound disappointing to you, but pornographic movies and X-rated magazines are very rare in North Korea. If you ever came across one in North Korea, they’re most likely to have been smuggled and distributed on the black market. It’s not like in America or South Korea, where you can buy this month’s copy of Playboy at your nearest bookstore whenever you feel like it. In the North, pornography is illegal. North Korea simply doesn’t allow it.
In South Korea, movies and documentary films are rated. In the South, you have to be 19 or over to legally watch porn. It’s understandable that people who aren’t familiar with North Korean culture might think porn must exist there, too. After all, people are the same everywhere you go, right? But sadly, in North Korea, forget about sex scenes. It’s very rare to spot even one kissing scene in North Korean movies.
But that’s part of a much larger problem: Sex education doesn’t exist at schools in North Korea. When I was a high school student in North Korea, students went on dates but even hugging was inconceivable to us, let alone kissing. The bravest thing we could do was walk together, holding hands in alleys when no one else was watching. If we ran into someone unexpectedly, they would be startled and we’d pretend we hadn’t been doing anything as “obscene” as holding hands.
Why would holding hands be considered obscene in North Korea? It’s probably all about comparisons: North Korean high schoolers don’t have a chance to watch porn, while high schoolers in South Korea or America can easily watch it.
Do you want to know what shocked me the most after arriving in South Korea? It was when I watched the news about a teenage girl who was in critical condition following an abortion. I had almost never heard of news like that in North Korea.
The North Korean government strictly bans pornography. They make sure that X-rated entertainment doesn’t circulate among its people. If someone gets caught watching porn or distributing it, they get sent to a correctional camp.
One North Korean guy I met on the way to South Korea said he left the country because he had been caught distributing copies of South Korean porn and he had been interrogated by North Korean police. That’s why he had to get away.
If North Korea opens its doors to the outside world or becomes reunified with South Korea, I can only assume that porn movies and X-rated magazines would be introduced into North Korea. But of course, they should be clearly rated “X” and kept away from minors.
PART 11
Fun and Leisure
[Introduction]
Fun certainly isn’t the first word that comes to mind when one thinks of North Korea. The grinding poverty that most people have to live with, and the extreme political control of the DPRK state apparatus, must surely make North Korea one of the least enjoyable or carefree places to live in the whole world.
Since Kim Jong Un came to power, there has been a concerted effort by the regime to present a more leisure-friendly image. I myself was taken to one of the manifestations of that policy—the Dolphinarium in Pyongyang, where the dolphins literally dance to the Kim family’s propaganda tunes. The development of funfairs and ski resorts has also been the focus of strong government attention.
Such things remain out of reach of the majority, though. Those living in Pyongyang and who have a little free time and money may go to a bowling alley or a water park, but for a poor farmer in Gangwon Province, such things would seem otherworldly. Furthermore, the transport network is so poor that people are largely confined to their home towns, and certainly wouldn’t take difficult, time-consuming trips purely for amusement value.
The average person must make their own fun. As anyone who has visited North Korea will tell you, this often means one thing: alcohol. Just like their estranged brothers and sisters in the South, North Koreans really know how to drink. For the majority this means soju and moonshine, and for the rich, imported spirits. Beer is also popular. North
Korea actually has an impressive range of beers, since each city has at least one brewery of its own.
Eumjugamu—drinking, singing, and dancing—are part of Korea’s heritage, and have been for centuries. So when North Koreans drink, music will never be far away. For young people, this may mean convening in an abandoned building, rigging up some speakers and dancing to (highly illegal) South Korean pop songs. For all ages, a sing-along with a guitar also does the job. As in any country, a man who plays guitar and sings well can be a hit with the ladies in North Korea.
Do North Koreans drink a lot? If so, where do they get alcohol from?
DT: Anyone who has been to South Korea will know that alcohol is a big part of life there. The same is true of North Korea, and maybe even more so. There’s a jocular expression in the South that “beer is not alcohol,” but according to Je Son Lee, that’s hardly even a joke in the North. Korea also has a strong tradition of making moonshine; this was stamped out in the South during the 1960s, but has continued unabated north of the border. Furthermore, North Korea is a tough place to live, and also colder than the South. It’s entirely natural therefore to expect North Koreans to enjoy a drink.
Je Son Lee:
There are various ways to purchase liquor in North Korea. The first is by going to the factory (or someone working there), and paying in cash. There were actually several famous beer breweries in my hometown. The second is by going to a local market, where you can buy domestic, imported, and home-brewed alcohol. This is illegal, but the authorities cannot control it. In the past, only domestic booze was allowed at the markets, but imported drinks (including Chinese liquor) also began to emerge. The most common is Kaoliang Liquor from China. As most North Korean booze is strong, Chinese Kaoliang liquor (46–50 percent alcohol) and vodka are popular.
In my hometown, one out of 10 households brewed liquor at home. The most widely used ingredients were potatoes and corn. Liquor produced like this was usually stronger than those of other regions due to the harsh winters. North Koreans have a different name for Korea’s famous soju. We call it nongtaegi. North Korean soju usually contains 20–25 percent alcohol in other regions, and 28–30 percent in my hometown. North Koreans are heavy drinkers and they greatly enjoy drinking. Thus, we would occasionally run low on booze, and it was almost inconceivable for us to have any leftover booze in my hometown.
My mom brewed liquor at home to sell. She usually made corn-based liquor. Firstly, she would leave corn powder with yeast on a heated floor and cover it with a blanket for 10 hours. When malt formed at the top of the liquid, she would pour it into a jar and mix it with warm water and wait until it fermented. After that, she poured it in the gamasot (cauldron) and boiled it. When the brew starts boiling and the steam comes out, that’s the magical moment when the liquid becomes what we call “liquor.” The final product was always transparent and had a soft taste.
I still remember when I got drunk after gulping down a mug out of my mom’s gamasot. While my mom was away, my friend and I began drinking one cup after another. We got drunk and couldn’t remember what happened after that. But afterwards my mom told us the house looked as if a big storm had swept through it. We don’t remember what exactly we did to trash the house, but we know for sure that we kept giggling and had a good time. That’s the magic alcohol does to you, right? I have to admit, my friend and I kept drinking secretly whenever my mom was not home after that.
My dad was another person who greatly enjoyed drinking. There was a beer brewery nearby and my dad and his friends would bring 50–60 liters of beer home. They would drink all night long. They would jokingly say, “We drink beer so we can go to the toilet more often.” That’s how bad their sense of humor was. Once they started drinking at 9 p.m., all the booze would be gone by the time I woke up the next morning.
People in my hometown considered beer a soft drink. Thus, both adults and children helped themselves to beer. Age didn’t matter. As long as you enjoyed the taste of beer, you were free to drink whenever you wanted to.
Bars aren’t common in North Korea—at least not in my hometown. People drink at restaurants or kiosks at markets. However, since it is illegal to sell booze in markets, this is done covertly. Until 2000, North Koreans weren’t used to dining out. So, they usually drank at home. However, by 2010, North Koreans became familiar with dining out after coming into contact with South Korean and Chinese cultures. When I was in North Korea, there was only one restaurant in my hometown where they served liquor on the premises and it was run by Chinese people. Such restaurants were popular, at least for those who could afford them.
The legal drinking age in North Korea is 18. But no one seems to care about this: It was normal for North Korean children to buy booze on errands for their parents. It was such a small town, after all. Liquor vendors knew every kid in the neighborhood. Hence, they would hand over liquor to the children on errands without any hesitation because they knew their parents well.
And despite the official legal drinking age being 18 in North Korea, on New Year’s and public holidays, adults would recommend a drink or two to boys around the age of 15. In Korean culture, it is rude for younger people to smoke next to adults. However, it is perfectly fine for them to drink along with older people.
Personally, I enjoy drinking alcohol. So, I would always drink with my dad. I became my dad’s favorite drinking buddy and he always appreciated my company. I hope I’ll be able to drink with him again sooner rather than later.
Do North Koreans like gambling?
DT: There is no formal gambling industry in North Korea, though for Chinese tourists in the special economic zone of Rason, there is always the Emperor, a five-star hotel and casino. Among non-elite North Koreans, gambling is limited to bets between individuals, usually over card games.
Je Son Lee:
Yes, we do gamble in North Korea—at least some people do. Card games such as Go–Stop (which is played in Korea and Japan) and billiards are the most commonly played games. Personally, I’ve heard of people in my hometown that forfeited their houses or ended up in jail as a consequence of their gambling addiction.
Even when they’re not exactly gambling, both grownups and children like to play cards for fun. Playing cards was the most popular form of entertainment in my hometown. Since there aren’t many entertainment facilities or amenities in North Korea, playing cards came in handy. It was common for North Koreans to play cards with their relatives on holidays and weekends.
The rules of North Korean card games aren’t complicated at all. Anyone can learn to play cards very easily in North Korea. But the competition gets fierce once people start betting. That’s what makes the game more intense and attractive, after all. For this reason, both men and women loved to play cards in my hometown. On New Year’s, Chuseok and other holiday weekends, grownups play cards during lunch and dinner. The person who wins the most points pays nothing, the one who finishes second pays a little, and the one with the fewest points pays the most towards the meal.
Then, you may wonder, how much money do North Koreans bet on their card games? When people play for fun and entertainment at home, it is usually petty money, such as 100 won per point. But when you’re talking about gambling—for real—they bet 1,000–10,000 won per point. While in North Korea, I heard that some people blew all of their money gambling. But I haven’t met anyone like that in person.
Students also play card games in North Korea. Schools in North Korea employ janitors, but one janitor cannot watch over the school by himself all day and all night, meaning students have to take turns standing guard from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. This is not obligatory; only those who volunteer do it. Most students volunteer in order to have a sleepover with their classmates. They play card games together during this “sleepover.” Since students don’t have enough money to gamble, whichever team loses the game pays for snacks.
I’ve noticed that South Koreans seem to play Go-Stop [a card game] a lot during family gatherings at New Year’s and Chuse
ok. But some North Koreans don’t seem to like the rules of Go-Stop, so there are other kinds of card games as well. In South Korea, people with low incomes often play billiards. But only the rich play billiards in North Korea.
Rumors have reached the North Korean government that people were gambling at billiards. But so long as I know, they haven’t come up with any tactics or policies to control it. I guess there are some things even the North Korean government can’t control.
What kind of pastimes do people have?
DT: North Koreans have precious little free time, and a lack of options with the free time that they do have. These days though, the uncontrollable influx of foreign media has given young people a new obsession—South Korean Hallyu. In the column below, Mina Yoon talks of DVDs of Russian or Chinese movies; however, since she defected, it has become commonplace for North Koreans to get USB sticks loaded with South Korean dramas and K-pop music. People are now daring to consume such forbidden fruits, for two reasons: USBs are smaller and easier to conceal; and, the increasing bribability of officials means that even if caught, you will most likely get out of trouble.
Mina Yoon:
People do not have much in the way of individual pastimes under the totalitarian system in North Korea. For starters, the idea of “free time” is not really common. And even if you do have free time, there aren’t many things to enjoy anyway.
The TV we had in our home was an award from Kim Il Sung that my father had received for his outstanding performance at work in 1993. Back then, TV was so rare that only one or two households per town had a set. Our family was the first in our neighborhood. Every evening there was a bunch of kids crowding into my house to watch TV and I had to stand by the foyer like a little gatekeeper. My mother allowed in most of the kids whose feet were clean and who were mature enough not to mess up the house. However, I—as the little autocrat of the house—could be a little bit selective and would invite only kids that I liked. That was why many neighborhood kids tried to impress me. They bribed me with snacks such as corn pancakes, brown rice snack, chestnuts and pine nuts. These days, TV has become more common and the majority of households in North Korea have a set.