North Korean army generals frequently present themselves in their uniforms with many medals. In terms of their quantity, they are most likely the most decorated generals in the world. Sometimes there are so many decorations that there is not adequate area on the chest, so medals hit the sleeves and even the pants. Why is this happening? The question is that Korea has not been active in any armed conflict for decades.
North Korea has a strong cult of the individual, centered on chief Kim Jong-una and members of his family. 1 component needed to keep power is the military. Military men are frequently rewarded not for heroism, but for merit to the regime. Their wearing is so of large image significance. The more medals, for strengthening power in the country, the greater prestige and position of a given military. This turns on competition – everyone wants to be the biggest friend of the first household and a fixture of “the only right system”.
Another reason for the multitude of medals is to grant them for trivial matters. A medal may be awarded for merit in...hunting, or military supervision of a civilian project. Of course, with specified ones they carry a lower rank in the military – the drill hangs with medals crucial from a political point of view. But it inactive doesn't explain why there are so many. To realize that, we request to discuss the North Korean criminal system.
Multigenerational collective responsibility
In North Korea, multigenerational collective work is applied to the most serious crimes. This means that the household of a fugitive, a traitor, or a saboteur can be punished with him. Collective work includes a full of 3 generations, i.e. a son/daughter and a grandson/granddaughter may besides be convicted of grandfather's wrongdoing. There are cases where a kid is born in a labour camp and stays in it for life, serving time for a household associate he has never even met.
Okay, but what does that gotta do with the military? The same strategy besides includes merit and honor. The distinctions go from father to son, then grandson. Thus, the general can exhibit not only his medals, but besides his father and grandfather. If it comes from a household deserved for the regime, its amount is so large that you can't pin everyone on your chest.
Carrying tens of medals all over the uniform is evidently highly impractical, so this customized is frequently reserved for peculiar occasions: state holidays, parades, etc. On a regular basis, heavy decorated military officials wear so - called barlets — narrow stripes of material in colours corresponding to a given order or decoration. This is simply a solution utilized in most armies around the world.
Source:
https://photocontest.smithsonianmag.com/photocontest/detail/three-generations-of-punishment/
This Is North Korea’s Brutal “Three Generation Punishment”
https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Prisons-of-North-Korea-English.pdf
