Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader has banned citizens from leisure activities such as laughing, grocery shopping, and drinking for 11 days. Just as bizarre as it sounds, but it’s certainly true, and on top of that it’s not the first time the country is witnessing something like this.
According to Radio Free Asia, a US-funded news service provider, every year North Korean people go through a mourning period for their former supreme leader Kim Jong-il. Kim Jong-il was the predecessor as well as the father of current leader Kim Jong-un. He administered it between 1994 and 2011. The 69 years old leader died of a heart attack on 17 December 2011 and ever since then his death day and days after that day are considered a grieving interval by North Korea.
During this period, the present leader Kim Jong-un pays respect to the former leader at his memorial. An anonymous North Korean citizen from Sinuiju, a city near the border, confirmed that the nation mourns for 10 days every year around the time of Kim Jong-il’s death anniversary. The unidentified individual also quoted that this time there will be an 11 day long grieving period since it’s the 10th death anniversary of the leader.
In the mourning period, no one can go grocery shopping, laugh, drink, or enjoy any leisure activity. In addition to the leisure ban, people cannot cry out loud even if their family member dies. They cannot organize a funeral or burial for their departed loved ones until the mourning period gets over. Moreover, the North Korean leader has prohibited all kinds of celebrations including birthdays. Thus, those who have birthdays during the mourning period cannot celebrate.
North Korea is very stringent with its rules especially if it’s pertained to its supreme leaders. So, those who break the rules are treated as criminals by North Korean authorities. As per the anonymous citizen, in the past, a lot of people have received punishment and this will continue in this time too. The resident told Radio Free Asia that North Korean police start preparation for this event somewhere around the beginning of December.