North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have launched a sweeping crackdown on cosmetic surgery, with officials reportedly ordered to identify women suspected of undergoing breast enhancement procedures. The surgeries, considered “anti-socialist” and “bourgeois,” are officially banned in the country’s medical institutions.
The directive comes after a high-profile show trial involving two women in their 20s, accused of having breast implants through an unlicensed backstreet surgeon. Residents of Sariwon, a city south of Pyongyang, were told that neighbourhood watch leaders must now flag women who appear to have had surgery, after which they would be taken to hospitals for medical checks.
During the trial, prosecutors accused the women of indulging in “rotten capitalist behaviour” while living in a socialist system. Surgical equipment, silicone allegedly imported from China, and bundles of seized cash were displayed as evidence. The procedures were reportedly carried out by a former medical student, who was caught by undercover officers posing as patients.
Eyewitnesses told South Korea-based outlet Daily NK that the defendants and the accused doctor were paraded on an open stage before a large crowd, where a judge denounced breast augmentation as an “un-socialist act.” The women admitted they had undergone the procedures because they “wanted to improve their bodies.”
Citing The Telegraph, the report noted that public opinion at the trial was mixed — while some criticised doctors for chasing money, others sympathised with them, pointing to the lack of economic opportunities.
The campaign is part of a broader state effort to suppress what Pyongyang views as the spread of “bourgeois ideology.” North Korea’s public security department reportedly announced a crackdown order in July, lasting until the end of September 2025, after a surge in demand for cosmetic surgery among women in their 20s and 30s during the summer.
Authorities have since formed a special task force to target “anti-socialist acts,” with female officers reportedly going undercover to catch both doctors and clients.
If convicted, the women on trial could face harsh punishment, including imprisonment or forced labour.