KimJong-il

North Korean Fashion Sees "Revolutionary Upsurge"

Filed under: Apparel

Fashion spending is increasing in some parts of the world ... and where you'd least expect it. According to the Korea Central News Agency, North Korean women have been buying dresses like crazy. I guess when your currency isn't defined by market movements, you can engineer any outcome you like (except in times of famine).

Not exactly known for its propensity for hype, unless it involves ballistic missiles or American defectors, the KCNA reports, "Korean dress shops in Pyongyang are bustling with customers in the current spring season."

In what sounds like a .. um, planned ... statement, a worker in the Ryonghung Korean Dress Shop observes, "All of them [i.e., customers] gasp their admiration for the graceful and fascinating costumes on show in the sample room."

This news report is a traditional tool in the North Korean media, which seeks to portray an image of confidence and self-sufficiency (called "juche") even in the face of reality. The only thing missing was "on the spot guidance" from Kim Jong-Il.

So, broader economic problems aside, North Korea is seeing a "revolutionary upsurge ... which give[s] off national lyricism and aroma in spring."

I read it in the KCNA, so it must be true.

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Tags: dprk, fashion, kim jong il, kim jong-il, KimJong-il, KimJongIl, north korea, NorthKorea, pyongyang