North Korea bans leather coats, because Kim Jong-un wears them

Authorities in North Korea have allegedly banned citizens from wearing leather trench coats, popularized by the country’s supreme leader Kim Jong Un. It was in 2019 that leather coats in South Korea first became a fashion trend after Kim Jong Un appeared in them on television. Although at first leather coats could only be purchased by the rich of the country, later on, local manufacturing began with imported fake leather. Leather is an extremely expensive commodity in the nation with real leather coats costing about 170,000 won and fake leather about 80,000 won.

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During the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party, Kim and other highly ranked officials were wearing leather coats, including the supreme leader’s sister Kim Yo Jong.

A resident of Pyongsong told RFA’s Korean Service on November 21 that, “as leather coats began to be recognized as a symbol of power, private clothing merchants asked trading company officials to import synthetic leather since September of this year. … They copied the design of the leather coats worn by the Highest Dignity and the officials and now they are being sold in the marketplace.”

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However, the authorities and the police have recently started to confiscate trench coats from the sellers and from the people wearing them in public places.

Police officials have reportedly told shopkeepers that wearing trench coats amounts to an “impure trend to challenge the authority of the Highest Dignity.’