To curb the rising divorce rate, the North Korean government has implemented new measures. Under the new rules, couples who divorce, including both the husband and wife, will be sent to labor camps for 1 to 6 months.
According to Radio Free Asia, residents in North Korea revealed that in the past, only the spouse who filed for divorce would be punished, even in cases of domestic violence. However, now both husband and wife will face punishment once a divorce is finalized.
A resident from Ryanggang Province told the radio station that when she visited the court in Kim Jong-suk County, she learned that 12 people had received divorce judgments and were promptly sent to the county’s labor camp.
The resident mentioned that since 2020, the country has seen a rapid increase in divorce rates. This surge is attributed to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to nationwide lockdowns making it challenging for most families to make ends meet, resulting in many marriages falling apart. To deter North Korean citizens from divorcing, the government has begun penalizing divorcees.
Until last year, only the spouse who initiated the divorce would be sent to a labor camp when a couple divorced. But starting from December this year, both parties of the divorcing couples are being sent to labor camps.
North Korea previously attempted to discourage women from seeking divorce by conducting educational activities within women’s organizations. This initiative even included tactics like publicly shaming the parents of divorcees.
However, despite these efforts, North Korea’s divorce rate has not significantly decreased, prompting the government to escalate its response. For instance, officials who divorce will be expelled from the Workers’ Party of Korea and lose all related benefits such as access to better education, housing, and job opportunities.
The resident shared a personal story, saying, “My brother got divorced after three years of marriage. His wife filed for divorce first and received the verdict. She was sent to labor camp for 6 months, while he was sentenced to one month.”
A divorced woman who had just completed a 3-month sentence at a labor camp in Pyongan Province told the radio station that women face harsher punishments than men due to divorce.
She mentioned that the county labor camp detains about 80 women and 40 men, with approximately 30 men and women imprisoned due to divorce, with women receiving longer sentences.
Explaining further, she noted that divorcees are commonly in their thirties followed by those in their forties, with frequent reasons for divorce being marital conflicts over financial difficulties leading to domestic violence by husbands against their wives.
She emphasized, “If the authorities continue to try to control the divorce rate by locking people up in labor camps instead of addressing the fundamental issues of livelihood, the number of young people giving up on marriage will increase.”
A report from South Korea’s Ministry of Unification stated that North Korean defectors who flee to South Korea have significantly high divorce rates. Among 2,432 defectors surveyed, 28.7% of women and 15.2% of men had experienced divorce.
In comparison, South Korea’s overall divorce rate in 2024 was 1.8 divorces per 1,000 residents (0.18%).