North Korea Bans Laughing For 11 Days
To mark Kim Jong-il’s death anniversary, North Korea has imposed a strict ban on laughing, drinking, and shopping for its citizens for a period of 11 days which started on December 17.
Kim Jong-il was the former leader of North Korea and the father of current leader Kim Jong-Un. He ruled North Korea for 17 years. He died on 17th December 2011. To mark Kim Jong-il’s death anniversary, North Korea has imposed a strict ban on laughing, drinking, and shopping for its citizens for a period of 11 days which started on December 17. During the mourning period, citizens are prohibited from any celebration and leisure activity. While it is usually a 10-day mourning period that is followed every year, this year the mourning period was extended by another day as 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the leader's death. During this period, if a resident breaks the rule, he or she can be arrested. In the past, residents who were found guilty of flouting the restrictions “were arrested and treated as criminals. They were taken away and never seen again. The law enforcement officials were asked to "crack down" on all those flouting rules. It's a month-long special duty for the police.
That's not all. People cannot even celebrate their own birthdays if they fall within the mourning period. In the event that there is a death in a household during the mourning period, bereaved family members are not allowed to cry out loud. The body must be taken out after it's over.
As per a report in Newsweek, citizens in the capital city of Pyongyang were made to bow their heads and observe three minutes of silence as a siren blared across the city in remembrance of Kim Jong-il on December 17. Additionally, cars, ships and trains all blew their horns on the occasion. In addition to the restriction, grocery shopping was banned on December 17.
