North Korea bans hotdogs, deems cooking wieners an act of treason

North Korea bans hotdogs, calls cooking them acts of treason

In its latest act of draconian rule, North Korea has decided to ban hotdogs, counting the act of cooking them as treason.

The bizarre move is the latest in the government’s crackdown on South Korean influence spreading into the infamously isolated state.

According to the New York Post, the authoritarian state had outlawed two dishes — budae-jjigae and tteokbokki — seeing them as part of the ongoing cultural “invasion” from their capitalist southern neighbour.

No more hotdogs for North Korea

The former dish, budae-jjigae or army base stew, is responsible for North Korea’s hotdog ban.

The spicy stew is well-known for using many processed and canned foods, including hotdogs and spam.

According to Military.com, it originated during the Korean War, when many South Koreans were uprooted from their homes and were starving.

Hungry and in search of food, the impoverished people sought out American bases and used the discarded food from these bases to create a stew. While it was initially done out of desperation, the dish has since become a staple comfort food.

According to The Sun, the Western-inspired dish was introduced to North Korea in 2017.

Because no specific reason was given for the ban, the North Korean government has faced some opposition from merchants and consumers, according to Radio Free Asia.

Many who had fallen in love with the dish pointed out that the ban made no sense, adding that American and Western food items like hamburgers were still available in the country.

However, a vendor in the northern province of Ryanggang told The Sun that sales of budae-jjigae in the market have stopped.

Controlling North Korean thought by outlawing cultural products

The ban is part of the country’s large-scale effort to stamp out undesirable thoughts among their populace.

In 2020, North Korea introduced the Rejection of Reactionary Thought and Culture Act to combat what it views as an invasion of South Korean culture.

In addition to the food bans, the isolated nation has also sought to stamp out all traces of K-dramas that have swept across the globe.

Last year, a leaked video showed teens in North Korea being punished for watching addictive South Korean television series. The teens were each subjected to 12 years of labour for it.

Also read: Starbucks opens branch in South Korea with view of North Korean village

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Featured image adapted from Casiana Malaia’s Images on Canva.