Linguistic Challenges in North Korea: Why Kim Jong Un Took a Stand Against “Hamburger”

In an unusual move, Kim Jong Un issued a list of prohibited words due to their Western origins.

According to Rokna, citing the UK-based The Sun, the term “hamburger” was banned for being excessively Western. Additionally, “karaoke” and “ice cream” were also included on North Korea’s list of forbidden words. Karaoke, an interactive entertainment medium for singing enthusiasts, allows users to follow lyrics displayed on a screen while singing along into a microphone. The term “ice cream” refers to frozen dessert in English.

Tour guides welcoming Russian and Chinese visitors to the Wonsan resort in North Korea have been instructed not to use English words that are popular in the West or in neighboring South Korea. According to the report, approximately 20 to 30 tour guides enrolled in a strict training program organized by the Workers’ Party authorities in Kangwon Province.

The news outlet Daily NK, which reports on North Korea, stated that trainees receive instructions on managing and entertaining tourists, memorizing slogans and phrases. The program aims to train tourism professionals to use North Korean-specific terminology and avoid foreign loanwords or expressions used in South Korea.

For example, trainees are instructed to use “Dajin-gogi Gyoppang” (meaning double bread with beef) instead of “hamburger,” “Isukimo” (or Eskimo) instead of “ice cream,” and for “karaoke machine,” to say “screen-accompaniment device,” as opposed to the term widely used in South Korea.

Upon completing the course, trainees must take a final exam, and only those fully prepared will remain in the program.

The Daily Mail also reported on the ban, noting that according to a recent United Nations report, crackdowns in North Korea have intensified over the past decade, with the government increasingly punishing citizens attempting to access foreign media, including public executions.