North Korean Pleasure Squads: are they real?

So I, unfortunately, came across this TikTok on my FYP and it set off major alarms. First of all, why the hell did it come onto my page, and second, is this even true? If you don’t want to watch the TikTok I’ve got you covered:

The person who made the TikTok cites these books and articles:

Dear Leader My Escape From North Korea by Jane Jin Sung

Nothing To Envy Ordinary Lives In North Korea by Barbara Demick

Rogue Regime Kim Jong Il and the looming threat of North Korea by Jasper Decker

Without You, There Is No Us by Suki Kim

Under The Loving Care Of The Fatherly Leader by Bradley K. Martin

North Korea’s Organization and Guidance Department by Robert Collins

The articles:

https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/asia/pleasure-squad-defector-sheds-light-on-life-of-kim-jong-il-1.481988?outputType=amp

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/08/22/kimworld

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/wtf/the-secret-sex-parties-of-north-koreas-elite/news-story/567c1e94e43066b585feaebaad61900b

https://www.gq.com/story/kim-jong-il-sushi-chef-kenji-fujimoto-adam-johnson

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/kim-jongun-reinstates-pleasure-troupe-harem-of-young-women-10150879.html

Transcript:

“The pleasure squad is comprised of about 2000 North Korean girls divided into three different teams: there’s the sexual services team, the massages team, and the entertainment team. These young girls are appointed to the squad in middle school or high school, typically between the ages of 13 to 16 and they serve for about 10 years. This squad is run as official part of the government. It’s under the Cadres department, which is run by this man, Kim Phyong Hae, and it not only serves Kim Jong Un, it serves his top leaders and his inner circle. This squad is also nothing new in North Korea. Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, and his father, Kim Il Sung. Both had pleasure squads for themselves. The government has an official process which they do every single year to find new girls for the squad. Theres also specific selection criteria for who they can choose to put on the squad and I want to read a firsthand account from this book (Nothing to Envy) on what the process looks like: this is a firsthand account from a woman named Mi-ran

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now, fortunately, Mi-ran was not selected to go any further, her family was not at a high enough social class for her to be selected, but the girls who do go further have to meet strict criteria: they have to be a certain height, free of scars and blemishes, and had to have a soft, feminine voice, they were also required to be a virgin. After the top girls are selected they are sent to Section 5 of the Cadres department. The Cadres department reviews the list, whittles them down, and then sends their final selections to the North Korean leader. He then handpicks who he wants to be on his squad, thee new recruits go to a six month training course before they start, they are then assigned to one of the royal residences around North Korea. It says 32 here but there’s a lot more nowadays. This book (Rogue Regime) is a little bit old. We have stories from men who are either related to the North Korean leader, or served him in some capacity, talking about the Pleasure Squad. The girls were constant presences at guest houses regardless of what team they were on. They typically all had to do some sort of sexual services including stripping naked or playing erotic games. Once the girls have served a decade, when they hit their mid twenties, they’re retired from their roles, they’re typically then married off to elite guards of Kim Jong Un and regardless, they’re kept under close watch because they’ve seen so much behind the scenes. Theres only one case in history where we know a group of girls were allowed to return to their families; they were each paid $4000, which is a lot in North Korea, as well as giving gifts in exchange for swearing to secrecy. Anybody who broke this pledge would be immediately executed.”