Do North Koreans have special preferences in bed? Do they use dating apps to get to know each other? Is their erotic pleasure controlled by the party headquarters? He is able to Kim Jong Un to know all the details about the love life of the citizens of the country?
The above questions may sound paradoxical, however, let us not forget that we are talking about a country that has chosen the path of isolation and the information that reaches us about what is happening inside it is completely controlled. Since love and sex life are everyday issues in every corner of the globe, no one can speak with certainty about what is happening in North Korea.
But there is Sokeel Park NGO representative "Freedom in North Korea", Who comes to put the issue on the right footing and put an end to the speculations and myths circulated by the Western media, often with deceit. «North Koreans do it like the rest of the planet does", He explains and adds:" they are people with needs that are quite similar to ours ".
The NGO she works for is trying to bring North Koreans to the West and help them in their first steps. "We consider North Koreans so 'different' that we forget that they also have sex," he added.
North Korean society is patriarchal, conservative and with strong traditions, but it does not differ in matters of love affairs from the wider culture that prevails in East Asia. "You can not kiss someone in public. It is not illegal, but it is outside our cultural practices ", notes Jimmin Kang in a report of the Independent newspaper published in 2016, who confessed in 2007 to North Korea. "Also, the view is still widespread that it is good for couples not to have premarital relationships," he adds.
But what is a "typical" first date in North Korea and what does it include? Definitely a walk on the river or go skating. The most romantic will combine these two with outdoor picnics. Public displays of tenderness, such as walking hand in hand with the other half or kissing on the mouth, are extremely rare, although young people deviate from this rule.
However, the ban on access to social networks and datting apps, as well as the prohibitive prices of mobile phones, are factors that have kept relationships in a time more reminiscent of the 80s or even 90s, Sex education does not exists, while women are supposed to remain pure until marriage.
However, many couples tend to illegally rent rooms in homes to spend a few hours alone. Their occupants are usually the elderly, who live in houses near central markets or at train stations while chanting the services they offer. Although many times, the couples themselves will be searched.
These houses function as informal half-board hotels. They agree on the length of stay and then the tenant of the house leaves and returns to the time they have agreed.
As for contraceptive measures, they are non-existent or illegal. For example, it is difficult for a woman to find contraceptives and for a man to buy condoms. As for the next day pill, it is only available on the black market, while abortions are done secretly and often not even by doctors.
In recent years, however, porn has helped revise several perceptions about sex. Of course, it is enough for someone to have access to such material. As Park comments, "North Korea is a great example of what happens in a society without sex education and / or access to pornographic content."
Usually, those who manage to gain access to this material illegally are even more creative in bed. Possession of pornographic material, however, has its risks: those found by the authorities to possess it are taken to prison.
Even porn is part of the regime's authoritarian policy of excluding citizens from communicating with the outside world. That is, what happens with news, movies, etc. Perhaps because if the citizens see for themselves what is happening on the rest of the planet, it will be more difficult for the state to control them.
