Opinion Copying his look, it appears, is now an insult to Kim Jong-un’s sacred personality

Kim Jong-un, Supreme Leader of North Korea, just can’t seem to figure out what kind of fashion icon he wants to be. For years, there have been reports coming out of the mysterious, tragicomical totalitarian state of the lack of choice for the people. A great symbol of that unfreedom was the fact that people could only get their hair cut in state-approved styles and many men and boys were encouraged to emulate Kim’s hairdo — a sort of bowl cut with an odd middle parting. It’s a hairstyle only a dictator can pull off: Most regular people will be teased out of it. Now, it seems that North Korean authorities have decided that imitation is no longer a form of flattery.

Since December 2019, Kim has been seen sporting a leather trench coat. Unlike the haircuts, this fashion choice reportedly has more takers and many North Koreans have been spending relatively exorbitant amounts — the country has an abysmal per capita income — to rock a leather jacket. But, it seems Kim now wants to be unique in his look and the police have been cracking down on the trench coat. Copying his look, it appears, is now an insult to Kim’s sacred personality.

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At first glance, it appears that Kim is confused — it seems that he can’t decide between wanting to be the leader of the fashion pack or just a cool, leather-jacket-wearing, James-Dean-like lone wolf. After all, if a leather jacket becomes a uniform, is it even a leather jacket anymore? But perhaps there is more of a method to the sartorial diktats. When all people spoke about was a dated, somewhat unflattering bowl cut, he wanted everyone to be like him. Now that he’s cool, he wants to go it alone. Misery, Kim knows, loves company. And when you finally get a look right, you don’t want any copycats.

This editorial first appeared in the print edition on November 30, 2021 under the title ‘Kim Dean’.