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 01Yoon bet on US to deter North Korea. Now he faces an alliance skeptic in Trump. 02All the question marks hanging over Trump’s approach to North Korea in term two 03Time almost up for North Korea’s plan to launch 3 military satellites in 2024 04Trump return rekindles prospects of North Korea talks, but Russia stands in way 05How China could benefit from North Korea’s troop deployment to Ukraine 06New North Korean ICBM delivers big political message, and likely bigger payloads 07How North Korea-Russia ties will challenge next US president, no matter who wins 08What to make of the stunning collapse in value of North Korean won 09What to know about Kim Yong Bok, the man leading North Korean troops in Russia 10If Trump: How erratic leader’s reelection could scramble North Korea policy

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

01Yoon bet on US to deter North Korea. Now he faces an alliance skeptic in Trump.
02All the question marks hanging over Trump’s approach to North Korea in term two
03Time almost up for North Korea’s plan to launch 3 military satellites in 2024
04Trump return rekindles prospects of North Korea talks, but Russia stands in way
05How China could benefit from North Korea’s troop deployment to Ukraine
06New North Korean ICBM delivers big political message, and likely bigger payloads
07How North Korea-Russia ties will challenge next US president, no matter who wins
08What to make of the stunning collapse in value of North Korean won
09What to know about Kim Yong Bok, the man leading North Korean troops in Russia
10If Trump: How erratic leader’s reelection could scramble North Korea policy

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

LATEST ANALYSIS

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Peter Ward