Mick Hartley

More non-socialist behaviour. What is it this time?

North Korea’s government is accusing people with pet dogs of committing “non-socialist behavior,” Daily NK has learned.

“In view of the growing number of families with pet dogs at home, the Socialist Women’s Union of Korea recently informed its members that treating a dog as a family member who eats and sleeps with the family is incompatible with the socialist lifestyle and should be strictly avoided,” a source in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Mar. 8, speaking on condition of anonymity.

According to the source, the practice of keeping pet dogs began in North Korea in the early 2000s. At that time, the government did not consider it a problem because it was mostly officials and donju who needed guard dogs to protect themselves and their property from thieves.

“There have always been families who had cats to catch mice, but there weren’t many families with dogs. But that number has gradually increased, and recently there’s been a noticeable rise in foreign breeds of dogs such as Pomeranians and Shih Tzus, which used to be a rare sight in North Korea,” the source said.

North Korean authorities responded by condemning pet dog ownership as an non-socialist behavior, but that had little effect. More recently, however, the authorities have taken more proactive steps to control the practice, which they describe as having “the stench of the bourgeoisie.”…

“Dogs are basically meat that’s raised outside in accordance with their nature and then eaten when they die. Therefore, such behavior is totally unsocialist and must be strictly eliminated,” women’s union authorities stressed in the message.