North Korea TV censors Alan Titchmarsh’s trousers
North Korea’s state-run television station has censored a BBC gardening program by obscuring the trousers worn by presenter Alan Titchmarsh.
Central TV broadcasted a 2010 episode of Alan Titchmarsh’s Garden Secrets during its morning schedule but took measures to ensure that viewers couldn’t see his denim pants.
In the reclusive state, jeans are perceived as a symbol of Western imperialism and are therefore prohibited.
Mr. Titchmarsh remarked that the incident has unexpectedly elevated his status, stating, “It’s taken me until the age of 74 to be mentioned in the same breath as Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Rod Stewart.
I mean, wearing trousers that are generally considered too snug by those of us with a delicate sensibility,” in an interview with the BBC.
He clarified that his jeans were not overly tight but were deemed unacceptable in North Korea.
Reflecting on the situation, he added, “I’ve never viewed myself as a threat or an imperialist. I’m usually seen as rather friendly and harmless, so it’s given me a bit of credibility, hasn’t it?”
North Korea’s rules prohibiting jeans have been in place since the 1990s.
Back then, leader Kim Jong-il declared denim trousers to be a symbol of Western – and specifically American – imperialism, which had no place in a socialist state, according to Seoul-based NK News.
In recent years, a crackdown on Western culture has reiterated this ban, with state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun telling citizens in 2020 to reject what it termed “bourgeois culture” in favour of a “superior socialist lifestyle”.
Current leader Kim Jong-un, himself a fan of voluminous legwear, is reportedly irked by skinny jeans and T-shirts bearing Western logos which are popular in South Korea.
