North Korea censors pair of jeans on gardening show as part of years-long crackdown on 'anti-socialist' behavior

BBC TV show "Garden Secrets" was censored by North Korean authorities on their airwaves in an attempt to prevent the influence of U.S. imperialism in the communist country.

The gardening show, starring 74-year-old Alan Titchmarsh, received a pixelated overlay during a recent episode set in the gardens of the 17th-century Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, England.

The episodes of the British show are truncated down to 15 minutes from their hour-long originals, which first aired in the United Kingdom in 2010. The episode uses North Korean narrators and an added soundtrack of music.

The jeans themselves have been forbidden since the early 1990s in the interestingly named Democratic People's Republic of North Korea, the Guardian reported.

The ban has been part of ongoing efforts to plug a leak of U.S. imperialism that has allegedly been "seeping" into the country for some time.

In 2021, Australian outlet 9News reported on the North Korean state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmum. The paper reportedly ran a warning to its citizenry on why capitalistic views should be prevented.

North Korea argued that an "invasion of capitalistic culture" could cause the country to fall "like a damp wall." The warning was targeted at North Korean youth especially, to prevent the "exotic and decadent lifestyle" of capitalism from influencing children.

"We must be wary of even the slightest sign of the capitalistic lifestyle and fight to get rid of them," the paper allegedly said.

This was supplemented by a ban of all but 15 "non-socialist" haircuts. This included bans on spiky or dyed hair, along with mullets. Skinny jeans, nose or lip piercings, and branded T-shirts were also said to be prohibited.

Citizens were ordered by the Socialist Patriotic Youth League to consult a preapproved list of "proper" hairstyles to avoid punishment.

Kim Jong Un reportedly called on the aforementioned youth league to crack down on "unsavoury, individualistic, anti-socialist behaviour" among the young citizens. The crackdown involved stopping foreign speech, certain hairstyles, and western clothing that were all described as "dangerous poisons."

The BBC gave more depth to the types of punishments fashion detractors may receive and the justification for said punishments.

The outlet reported that South Korean publication Daily NK — which allegedly has sources inside North Korea — noted that three teenagers were sent to reeducation camp for hemming their pants and getting haircuts that resemble South Korean pop stars.

The crackdowns on western media, or even media from other Asian countries, reportedly comes with harsh penalties. Possessing large amounts of media from Japan, South Korea, or the United States is punished by the death penalty. This is also the punishment for smuggling illegal videos into the country.

Simply watching such videos allegedly comes with a 15-year term in a prison camp.

"I never imagined that my programs would reach North Korea, but hopefully the calming nature of British gardening will be well received there," Titchmarsh said in 2022.

It seems the truth of the matter is more of a mixed bag than it perhaps should be.

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