Living in the Real World:
“MAKE WOMEN MORE BEAUTIFUL”: INSIDE A NORTH KOREAN FASHION MAGAZINE
tongiltours.com/make-women-mor…
[First published at NK News on the 16th of January, 2019.
By Alek Sigley, founder of Tongil Tours and postgraduate student at Kim Il Sung University.]
“MAKE WOMEN MORE BEAUTIFUL”: INSIDE A NORTH KOREAN FASHION MAGAZINE
tongiltours.com/make-women-mor…
[First published at NK News on the 16th of January, 2019.
By Alek Sigley, founder of Tongil Tours and postgraduate student at Kim Il Sung University.]
2/“[North Korean fashion magazines] can be purchased from roadside book stalls, or ones attached to subway stations, and other such places that foreigners generally do not frequent. This, to some extent, supports their authenticity as documents which provide a measure of insight 
3/"into everyday life and fashion culture in the DPRK.
They speak of the continued development of the country’s consumer economy, and the emergence of more people with disposable income to spend on things like restaurant dinners, electronics, pets, and clothing.
It is during
They speak of the continued development of the country’s consumer economy, and the emergence of more people with disposable income to spend on things like restaurant dinners, electronics, pets, and clothing.
It is during
4/"this period that regular visitors to North Korea, including myself, have noticed increasingly colorful, diverse, and modern fashion on the streets of Pyongyang and the country’s other cities. This is the case mostly with women’s fashion, but with men’s fashion to a smaller
5/"extent too…
The “Clothing Research Center” also manages its own “Comet Pilot Plant (Factory)” on Tongil Street, has created a fashion design computer program called “Comet”, and oversees the training of runway models for fashion shows. It does a lot of work on chosonot
The “Clothing Research Center” also manages its own “Comet Pilot Plant (Factory)” on Tongil Street, has created a fashion design computer program called “Comet”, and oversees the training of runway models for fashion shows. It does a lot of work on chosonot
6/"(traditional Korean clothing) design and fashion shows.
As the only center of its kind in the country, it sees its mission as to “make Korean women more beautiful”, and “take responsibility for the cultural advancement of the country” through “creating and spreading designs
As the only center of its kind in the country, it sees its mission as to “make Korean women more beautiful”, and “take responsibility for the cultural advancement of the country” through “creating and spreading designs
7/"that meet the needs of the times and the tastes of the people”.
What appears to be the logo of the “Clothing Research Center” appears in the top left of the front cover. There’s a silhouette of a figure wearing a dress, outside of which feature the electron orbits of an atom
What appears to be the logo of the “Clothing Research Center” appears in the top left of the front cover. There’s a silhouette of a figure wearing a dress, outside of which feature the electron orbits of an atom
8/"and the word “clothing” in Korean.
Atoms are used everywhere in North Korea as a symbol for science. The evocation of science here only further hints at the still somewhat Marxist inclinations of the North Korean state, in attempting to apply rational and scientific methods
Atoms are used everywhere in North Korea as a symbol for science. The evocation of science here only further hints at the still somewhat Marxist inclinations of the North Korean state, in attempting to apply rational and scientific methods
9/"to understanding every aspect of society and the natural world—including fashion.
So in a sense this is indeed a magazine of state-approved styles."
So in a sense this is indeed a magazine of state-approved styles."
@threadreaderapp compile
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
