North Koreans are reportedly facing a ban on hot dogs, all in an effort to push back against Western culture creeping into their isolated nation.
Dictator Kim Jong Un says that serving hotdogs was an act of treason, according to The Sun. This comes as a South Korean dish influenced by American cuisine starts to gain traction over there. According to the report, if you get caught selling or cooking hot dogs in North Korea, you could be looking at some serious time in one of those notorious labor camps. And it doesn’t stop there—divorcees are also at risk of facing jail time.
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This is all part of the regime’s mission to stomp out any traces of capitalist culture among the people. They’ve even put a stop to selling budae-jjigae, a dish that’s made its way over from their pro-Western neighbor, South Korea.
Budae-jjigae, the spicy Korean-American hotpot that translates to “army base stew,” is packed with ingredients like hot dogs and Spam. This dish actually has its roots in the leftovers tossed aside by U.S. soldiers during the Korean War in the 1950s, with locals getting creative and turning those scraps into hearty stews.
This fusion dish made its way across the border into North Korea around 2017, long after it first hit the scene in the south.
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Radio Free Asia (RFA) dropped the news in November that the authorities have now banned budae-jjigae, along with tteokbokki—another beloved street food from the neighboring country.
A vendor from the northern province of Ryanggang shared with The Sun, “Sales of budae-jjigae in the market have completely shut down.”
“The police and market management have said anyone caught selling it will be shut down.”
In December, reports surfaced about citizens saying that divorcees in North Korea could be looking at one to six months in labor camps for their so-called “crimes.”
Divorce is a serious no-no in this communist state, seen as an anti-socialist move, and the government has to give the green light for any legal separations to even happen.
A divorced woman who said she spent three months in labor in South Pyongan province told RFA that the sentences for women are way tougher than what men face.
“There are about 80 women, and 40 men imprisoned in the county labor training camp,” she said. “About 30 men and women were imprisoned due to divorce decrees, and the women’s sentences were longer.”
