Inside North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s spine-chilling ‘pleasure squad’
FP Explainers • May 3, 2024, 18:19:53 ISTWhatsappFacebookTwitter
A North Korean defector has revealed the unsettling selection procedure behind leader Kim Jong Un’s infamous ‘Pleasure Squad’. Twenty-five virgin girls are carefully chosen each year to fulfil the dictator’s desires
 "Inside North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s spine-chilling ‘pleasure squad’")
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends an event with students to celebrate the new year in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this picture released by the KCNA on 2 January, 2024. File Image/AP
A chilling account from a North Korean defector sheds light on the sinister workings of dictator Kim Jong Un’s so-called “Pleasure Squad.” According to 30-year-old Yeonmi Park, Kim annually handpicks 25 virgin girls for this dubious honour, focusing not only on their physical attractiveness but also their political loyalty.
Park revealed to Daily Star that she was scouted twice for this role but was disqualified due to her family’s political status. She described how authorities meticulously screen candidates through medical examinations to ensure their virginity, with even minor imperfections leading to disqualification.
Advertisement
What is this ‘selection procedure’ like?
Park explained, “They visit every classroom and they even go to school-yards in case they missed someone that was pretty.
“Once they find some pretty girls, the first thing they do is check into their family status – their political status. They eliminate any girls with family members that have escaped from North Korea, or have relatives in South Korea or other countries.”
The next stage involves a medical evaluation to confirm their virginity. Those who successfully pass this assessment undergo a more thorough medical examination, where even minor imperfections like tiny scars can lead to disqualification.
This stringent screening process results in only a few girls from across North Korea being chosen, who are then dispatched to Pyongyang. Once selected, Park stated that the sole purpose of these girls is to satisfy the dictator.
Conditions in North Korea are so dire that parents readily permit their daughters to be recruited by Pleasure Squad scouts, seeing it as a means to ensure their daughters won’t go hungry.
Also Read: Are West’s favourite cartoons being created in North Korea?
Upon reaching their mid-twenties, members of the squad are retired. They are often wedded to the leader’s bodyguards, with the privilege granted to retiring members to select their spouse from eligible members of the security services.
Park, whose accounts of life within North Korea have been heavily scrutinised by certain critics, asserted that the Kim dynasty were “paedophiles who expect to be worshipped as gods.”
Advertisement
Park also highlighted the existence of three divisions within the squad: massage, entertainment, and sexual activities, each serving different purposes for the dictator and his inner circle.
How did this ‘practice’ originate?
The origins of this appalling practice date back to Kim Jong Il in the 1970s, who believed that intimate relations with young women would grant him immortality. Kim Jong Il established the first “Pleasure Squad,” inspired by his father Kim Il-Sung’s preferences.
Park averred, “He thought ‘If I pick some pretty girls, and place them where my father Kim Il Sung stays, he might find that very pleasurable.’
“So he picked beautiful women and put then in resorts that Kim Il Sung visited. Kim Il Sung was so touched that his son thought of his pleasure, and that’s why he nominated Kim Jong Il as his successor.”
Advertisement
She continued, “Kim Il Sung had more traditional taste in women, because he was older, so he had his own group called Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble. Kim Jong-Il had this own pleasure squad called Wangjaesan Light Music Band.
“Their body types were a bit different. Kim Jong Il preferred women taller than 160cm [about 5’2”] – not that tall because Kim Jong-Il was very short.”
Former leader Kim Jong Il held the belief that engaging in sexual relations with young teenage girls would grant him immortality. He passed away from a severe heart attack in 2011 at the age of 70.
Over time, each leader tailored the squad to their taste, with Kim Jong Un favouring slender, “western-looking” women. “There are rumours that his wife was originally in the Pleasure Squad,” Park told Daily Star.
Advertisement
Brutal luxury amidst economic despair
While Kim indulges in extravagant spending on luxury goods, his people endure extreme poverty. New data, according to UK’s Mirror, indicates that Kim Jong Un splurged £122,000 on provocative women’s undergarments within a year, despite widespread destitution among his people. Trade records from 2022 reveal a slew of extravagant purchases made by the regime, including the aforementioned lingerie, speculated to be destined for the closets of the country’s privileged few and the ‘Pleasure Squad’.
Additionally, the regime allocated a staggering £2,675,000 for spirits and liqueurs, predominantly imported from China, further emphasising their penchant for luxury goods. Furthermore, North Koreans were provided access to £12.6 million worth of tobacco products, encompassing cigars, cigarettes, and cigarillos, highlighting a stark contrast between the elite’s indulgences and the population’s hardships.
Advertisement
This lavishness sharply contrasts with the average citizen’s daily struggle, surviving on wages as low as £4.40 per day.
North Korea’s trade data reveals a stark contrast between the elite’s opulence and the general populace’s deprivation. While imports of luxury items like chocolate and alcohol soar, essentials like food and hygiene products see minimal expenditure. China emerges as North Korea’s primary trading partner, supplying a vast majority of imported goods. Despite international sanctions, trade figures illustrate the regime’s reliance on external sources for maintaining its lavish lifestyle.
