A war on words: Kim Jong Un’s Orwellian crackdown on talking like South Koreans



Analysis A war on words: Kim Jong Un’s Orwellian crackdown on talking like South Koreans A new North Korean law polices intonation, jargon and more in futile effort to curtail ‘the puppet way of speaking’ Peter Ward June 28, 2023 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Two North Koreans chatting on a rainy day in Oct. 2016 \| Image: NK Pro North Korea’s top parliamentary body recently adopted a new law on standard and acceptable speech and language in the country, a terrifying and ultra-aggressive attack on accents, jargon and vocabulary not approved by the state. The Pyongyang Standard Language Protection Act demonstrates just how concerned the Kim regime is about the encroachment of South Korean culture into North Korean society. The law would be comical if it weren’t for just how severe the punishments it mandates were. An NK Pro analysis indicates: Many of the new stipulations are characterized by remarkable vagueness Read More © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01How long-range strikes on Russia could impact North Korean troop deployments 02How North Korean hackers and IT workers collude to cause chaos 03What pro-Trump think tanks reveal about his likely North Korea policy priorities 04Yoon bet on US to deter North Korea. Now he faces an alliance skeptic in Trump. 05All the question marks hanging over Trump’s approach to North Korea in term two 06Time almost up for North Korea’s plan to launch 3 military satellites in 2024 07Trump return rekindles prospects of North Korea talks, but Russia stands in way 08How China could benefit from North Korea’s troop deployment to Ukraine

Analysis

A war on words: Kim Jong Un’s Orwellian crackdown on talking like South Koreans

A new North Korean law polices intonation, jargon and more in futile effort to curtail ‘the puppet way of speaking’

Peter Ward June 28, 2023

A war on words: Kim Jong Un’s Orwellian crackdown on talking like South Koreans

Two North Koreans chatting on a rainy day in Oct. 2016 | Image: NK Pro

North Korea’s top parliamentary body recently adopted a new law on standard and acceptable speech and language in the country, a terrifying and ultra-aggressive attack on accents, jargon and vocabulary not approved by the state.

The Pyongyang Standard Language Protection Act demonstrates just how concerned the Kim regime is about the encroachment of South Korean culture into North Korean society.

The law would be comical if it weren’t for just how severe the punishments it mandates were. An NK Pro analysis indicates:

Many of the new stipulations are characterized by remarkable vagueness

01How long-range strikes on Russia could impact North Korean troop deployments
02How North Korean hackers and IT workers collude to cause chaos
03What pro-Trump think tanks reveal about his likely North Korea policy priorities
04Yoon bet on US to deter North Korea. Now he faces an alliance skeptic in Trump.
05All the question marks hanging over Trump’s approach to North Korea in term two
06Time almost up for North Korea’s plan to launch 3 military satellites in 2024
07Trump return rekindles prospects of North Korea talks, but Russia stands in way
08How China could benefit from North Korea’s troop deployment to Ukraine

A war on words: Kim Jong Un’s Orwellian crackdown on talking like South Koreans

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Peter Ward