Park Yeon-mi, 30, a former North Korean defector now living in the United States, recently described how the “pleasure squads,” which exist solely to entertain the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, are created, according to the Mirror.
According to Park, the women are selected based on their looks and political loyalty. “They visit every classroom and even search the schoolyards in case they missed someone pretty,” Park said. “Once they find pretty girls, the first thing they do is check their family and political status. They eliminate any girls with family members who have escaped from North Korea or have relatives in South Korea or other countries.”
Park claims she was considered twice for selection to the “pleasure squad” but was rejected due to her family’s status.
The next step involves a medical examination to confirm their virginity. Those who pass this stage face another rigorous medical check, where minor imperfections like tiny scars anywhere on the body could lead to disqualification. After this strict screening, the girls are selected from across the country and transferred to Pyongyang.
The “pleasure squad” is divided into three groups. One group is trained in massage; another specializes in performing songs and dances to entertain Kim Jong-un and his close associates, sometimes even appearing publicly as the Moranbong Band. The Moranbong Band, consisting of around ten beautiful singers and musicians at least 165 centimeters tall and weighing no more than 50 kilograms, has been dubbed the “Pyongyang version of Girls’ Generation.” Hyon Song-wol, now in charge of protocol for Kim Jong-un’s events, was a former leader of the band.
“The most attractive girls are selected to perform for Kim Jong-un, while others are chosen to satisfy lower-ranking generals or politicians,” Park said. “Learning how to please men is their only goal.”
North Korea’s “pleasure squad” was reportedly created for Kim Il-sung in the 1970s. Park said that the group’s composition changed from Kim Il-sung to Kim Jong-il to Kim Jong-un as each leader had different tastes in women. “Kim Jong-il was very short, so he preferred women who were at least 160 centimeters tall, and the women he chose had round faces,” Park said. “Kim Jong-un prefers Western types who are slim and tall. There are rumors that Kim Jong-un’s wife was also originally a member of the pleasure squad.”
Parents reportedly consent to their daughters joining the pleasure squad to ensure they do not suffer from starvation. The women are considered past their prime by reaching their mid-20s and are usually married off to one of Kim’s bodyguards. “Retired pleasure squad members consider it a privilege to choose their husbands from among the bodyguards,” Park said.
Park was born in 1993 in Hyesan, North Korea’s Ryanggang Province, and defected in 2007. She traveled to the U.S. in 2014 after gaining attention for her speech at the World Young Leaders Conference in Dublin, Ireland, highlighting human rights abuses in North Korea. However, some U.S. media outlets have recently noted that Park’s statements have changed. Park explained, “Linguistic and cultural inexperience caused misunderstandings when I didn’t speak English.”
