April 23, 2024
Evergreen

Pyongyang pin-ups: North Korea’s film and TV beauties

In DPRK culture, big is beautiful and round faces are the must-have

Like many temporary visitors to the DPRK who had lived in South Korea for a long time, I immediately grasped the meaning of an old Korean saying: namnam puknyeo, “the most beautiful Korean women are from the North, the most beautiful Korean men are from the South.”

Indeed, in Pyongyang I found myself surrounded by rather mediocre men and exceptionally pretty women, though this rule was not without significant exceptions.

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