Divorce is considered abnormal behavior in North Korea, and children whose parents split up are often ostracized by their peers or discriminated against by society, Daily NK has learned.
“There are several sayings [about the family] by Kim Il Sung that are revered here [in North Korea]. For example, he said that the family is a cell in society and that the foundation of Korean-style socialism, with its emphasis on the people and the masses, depends on whether these cells are managed effectively. That’s why divorce is considered an abnormal event and the breakup of the family,” a source in North Korea told Daily NK on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“For this reason, broken families are classified as social problems, and the children of these families often do not get along with other children and suffer various forms of discrimination, such as not being called on in school,” the source added.
For reasons such as these, a family in which both parents are legally present is considered the only valid concept of family, and other types of families – such as unmarried parents or a single parent – are not tolerated.
“Divorced individuals are stigmatized as abnormal people who have committed pathetic and backward behaviors that should not occur in a socialist society,” the source explained. “The party’s firmly held position is that revolutionizing the family is equivalent to revolutionizing society and that improving the members of the family is equivalent to improving members of society. As a result, divorced officials are considered to have failed to revolutionize their family and are often unable to rise in rank or hold important positions.”
Financial issues lead to the lion’s share of divorces
Why, then, do people continue to choose divorce in the face of social discrimination, scorn, and disadvantage?
“The biggest reason for divorce these days is not cheating with another man or woman, but financial issues,” the source said.
Because North Korean women typically provide the household income, some women decide to divorce husbands who fail to fulfill their duties as head of the household.
“More women are demanding their share of the assets they’ve earned when they divorce husbands who don’t pull their weight. So dividing up property can be a brutal process,” the source said.
Article 39 of North Korea’s family law encourages divorcing couples to reach an agreement on the division of property and assets, but it is very rare for such an agreement to be reached amicably, the source said.
Under such circumstances, the percentage of North Korean divorced women who remarry has plummeted, he added.
“Men tend to remarry, but women think it’s better to save money, live comfortably and do as they please than to remarry and spend their whole lives supporting a husband. If they don’t have children, they often give some money to their siblings, nieces and nephews and ask family members to bury them in a sunny place after they die.”
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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May 16, 2024 at 01:30PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)