- North Korea cracks down on women suspected of using breast implants
- Cosmetic surgeries like breast augmentation are labelled non-socialist
- A doctor and two women faced a public trial for illegal breast surgeries in Sariwon
North Korea has initiated a harsh crackdown on women suspected of having "capitalist" breast implants, labelling such cosmetic procedures as "un-socialist" and "bourgeois", The Telegraph reported. The country's security services are conducting invasive checks, with neighbourhood watch leaders tasked to identify women with noticeable changes in their bodies and report them for examinations.
In North Korea, a regime led by Kim Jong Un, breast augmentation and double-eyelid surgery are deemed "non-socialist acts" and are illegal. Those found guilty face severe penalties.
The new plans were announced as a doctor and two women in their 20s faced a public trial in Sariwon's cultural hall for undergoing illegal breast surgeries. The doctor apparently had little medical experience and dropped out of medical school before completing his surgery program.
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"A public trial was held at a culture centre in downtown Sariwon in mid-September for a doctor who performed illegal breast augmentation and two women who received the procedure," a source in North Hwanghae province told South Korean-based news outlet Daily NK recently.
The prosecutors said that the women had become "tainted by bourgeois customs" and were "engaging in rotten capitalist behaviour". Meanwhile, the accused expressed wanting to "improve their figure", but were called a threat to the socialist system.
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The judge promised "strict punishment", with medical tools, smuggled silicone, and cash displayed as evidence. As quoted, the judge said one of the defendants "had no intention of being loyal to the organisation and group, but was obsessed with vanity and ended up becoming a poisonous weed that was eating away at the socialist system".
A source also told Daily NK, "Among the residents who watched the trial, there were voices of criticism such as 'doctors do all kinds of things for money,' but at the same time, there were also sympathetic comments such as 'Isn't he doing such things because he has no way to make a living?'"
Many women in Sariwon live in fear of being subjected to checks if suspected of undergoing cosmetic procedures.
