Plastic surgery is legal in North Korea, eyebrow tattoos aren't, report finds

While cosmetic surgery is legally allowed in North Korea, eyebrow tattoos are explicitly banned, as they are deemed incompatible with the “socialist lifestyle,” according to a newly revealed report.

The Rodong Sinmun reports on June 5 that Kim Jong-un met with Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, during his visit to North Korea on June 4. [YONHAP]

While cosmetic surgery is legally allowed in North Korea, eyebrow tattoos are explicitly banned, as they are deemed incompatible with the “socialist lifestyle,” according to a newly revealed report.

U.S.-based website 38 North reported Wednesday on North Korea’s Plastic Surgery Treatment Law, which was enacted in 2016 and has since been revised twice, most recently in February 2024.

38 North said that the law was found on a database of North Korean legislation installed on a North Korean smartphone obtained by the outlet in late 2024.

According to the report, Article 11 of the Plastic Surgery Treatment Law allows procedures not only for congenital deformities or medical needs, such as burns or tumors, but also for aesthetic purposes to enhance one's appearance despite no damage from soft tissue trauma, burns, tumors or inflammatory diseases.

The law stipulates that North Korea developed plastic surgery so that “people can enjoy a happy and civilized life with a healthy and beautiful appearance," deeming it “an inherent demand of our country’s popular masses-centered socialist system.”

However, there are exceptions. Procedures that entirely alter one’s facial features to resemble another person, fingerprint modifications and sex reassignment surgeries — except in “special cases” — are all prohibited. Notably, eyebrow tattoos are also banned under the same clause.

The law defines eyebrow tattoos as a form of plastic surgery that does not "conform to a socialist lifestyle.”

The law further stipulates that such procedures may only be performed at central-level hospitals or specialized plastic surgery clinics. General medical clinics are not permitted to offer these services.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]