What Kim Jong Un's daughter's fashion tells us about North Korea
BBC • • world
Key Points:
- Kim Ju Ae, daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has been increasingly featured in state propaganda since 2022, with her sophisticated and evolving fashion suggesting she is being groomed as a successor.
- Her outfits, ranging from formal suits to leather jackets, are likely orchestrated by the Propaganda and Agitation Department to project maturity, strength, and a special social status distinct from ordinary citizens.
- Ju Ae's fashion choices mirror a historical tactic of "image replication," similar to how Kim Jong Un initially emulated his grandfather Kim Il Sung to legitimize his leadership.
- Despite strict cultural controls and bans on Western fashion for the general population, the Kim family, including Ju Ae, frequently wear luxury Western-designed clothing, highlighting their exemption from societal rules.
- Ju Ae's rising prominence and fashion influence contrast sharply with the restrictions on everyday North Koreans, who have limited access to external information and fashion trends but aspire to emulate the elite style of the ruling family.
