5 things that are banned in North Korea

In the most closed country in the world you can not wear jeans, celebrate Christmas or talk with foreigners

The North Korea is ruled brutally by the dictator Kim Jong-un , who does not hesitate to imprison or condemn to death people who do not follow strictly all the rules of the regime. The routine of the population includes the worship of leaders, who must be revered several times a day and whenever one passes in front of one of the numerous images of the Kim family .

The most closed country in the world does not allow any political questioning, which is seen as treason and punishable by death. To ensure control of the people, North Korea filters all information from abroad and restricts to the maximum the interactions between local and foreign.

Some things have been changing. For example, women were banned from cycling in Pyongyang , but since Kim Jong-un came to power, this has been allowed. Demonstrations of affection in public until not long ago were non-existent. Today it is possible to see couples who go hand in hand in the capital and even kisses between lovers. "There is a very romantic place on the banks of the Taedongang River in the center of Pyongyang, where it was common to see couples kissing under a grove," says Brazil's former ambassador to North Korea, Roberto Colin , , who lived four years in the country.

Excess prohibitions and heavy state control in all spheres of people's private and professional life, however, are the rule in the country. Check out fifteen forbidden things in North Korea:

1. Fair or low-cut clothing. The dress code of the country is quite conservative and both men and women should wear demure clothes. Showing the navel in public can lead to arrest.

2. Bikini . In swimming pools and beaches, women are expected to wear only discreet swimsuits.

3. Jeans . Taken as a symbol of American imperialism, jeans are banned in the country. "It's a paradox: they do not wear jeans, but they drink Coca-Cola," says Colin.

4. Photography . The government strongly controls the country's image and, therefore, can not photograph anything without authorization. Foreigners often have equipment - machines and cell phones searched or seized while visiting the country.

5. Internet . Very few people in the military and government elite have access to the internet. The rest of the country - including tourists - can at most access a fully government-controlled intranet.

6. Religion . The country vetoes all religions and compels citizens to worship rulers as gods. Anyone caught praying or having a Bible can be sent to the labor camps or be executed.

 7.  Celebrate Christmas. With the veto of religions, it is also forbidden to celebrate religious dates, such as Christmas. In 2011, South Korea angered its neighbor to the north by putting together a huge 30-meter Christmas tree at the border between the two countries.

 8. Be happy when the country decrees mourning. On the anniversary of the death of Kim Il-sung , grandfather of Kim Jong-un and founder of the dynasty, it is strictly forbidden to smile, talk loudly, drink alcohol and dance.

9. Talk to strangers on the street. Tourists who watch the country are watched all the time and receive specific guidelines so that they do not talk to the locals. Even foreigners living in the country have to put their children in special schools and are prohibited from using unaccompanied public transport to avoid contact with local people.

10.  Connect to the outdoors. SIM (cellular) phone cards are blocked to avoid any contact with the outside.

11. Pornography. It is considered a crime in North Korea to own, consult or distribute any material with adult content. The vigilance is so great that one does not even talk about it. " It does not exist and it is so unthinkable that people do not even know it exists," says Roberto Colin.  

12. Have the name Kim Jong-un. A decree signed in 2011 by Kim Jong-il, the father of the current dictator, established that no one in North Korea could have the same name as his son.

13. Have a criminal relative . When a person commits a crime, the whole family is condemned. Parents, siblings, children, grandparents and uncles all are arrested and sentenced to forced labor - or executed - to pay for the crime of the relative. "This is an inheritance from the feudal age that begins to decline, but it still exists," says Colin.

14. Go through an image of the leaders without bowing. Statues and posters of members of the Kim family are present on every street in Pyongyang, and the regime watches closely if everyone performs the rituals of revering the image of the leaders.

15. Fold an image of leaders. Newspapers, for example, that are state-owned and stuffed with photos of Kim Jong-un, can not be folded. "In no case can this be done, for them it is heresy," explains the ambassador.