North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has launched a crackdown on breast augmentation surgeries, labeling them “anti-socialist” and a product of rotten capitalist influences. Authorities in Pyongyang issued emergency orders this summer, targeting what they see as a growing trend of plastic surgery among women.
The Ministry of Public Safety in Pyongyang City is leading the effort. Officials warn that anyone caught—whether women seeking the procedures or underground doctors performing them—could face severe punishment, including time in North Korea’s notorious labor camps. This comes amid rising demand for breast implants, eyelid surgeries, and even eyebrow tattoos, especially among women in their 20s and 30s.
Reports from sources inside the isolated nation, shared by outlets like Daily NK and Metro, paint a picture of intense enforcement. Over the summer, teams of agents in plain clothes fanned out across central areas, including the capital Pyongyang. They hunted for black market surgeons and women who appeared to have had enhancements, conducting random checks.
If suspicion arises, women might undergo forced physical exams by government health officials. One anonymous insider told Daily NK that these operations stem from women absorbing “bourgeois ideology”—a term North Korean leaders use for Western-style influences that clash with socialist values.
The crackdown hit a public high in mid-September. A private doctor and two young women in their 20s faced trial in North Hwanghae Province. They stood with heads bowed for hours as a prosecutor tore into them. “Women living in a socialist system have been corrupted by bourgeois customs and have committed rotten capitalist acts,” the prosecutor declared, according to Metro.
During the trial, authorities displayed seized items: smuggled silicone implants, surgical tools, and stacks of cash from illegal dealings. Prosecutors confirmed the two women had been physically examined to confirm the procedures.
This isn’t the first time North Korea has clamped down on perceived Western excesses. Just months ago, a Financial Times report highlighted how a small group of North Korean soldiers sent to fight in Russia got hooked on pornography after their first exposure to unrestricted internet access. It shows how even brief glimpses of outside culture can challenge the regime’s tight control. As North Korea tightens its grip on plastic surgery trends, questions linger about how far these “anti-socialist” campaigns will go.
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