North Korea blurs out Alan Titchmarsh's jeans as they are a 'symbol of western imperialism'

The broadcaster had his trousers redacted as they are considered a symbol of US imperialism
Jacob Phillips26 March 2024

Green-fingered broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh has had his jeans blurred out by North Korean censors.

The gardener, best known for presenting programmes such as Gardeners World, had his trousers redacted as they are considered a symbol of US imperialism in the dictatorship.

Titchmarsh, who is also the author of raunchy novels, wore jeans to potter around Britain's gardens in the BBC series Garden Secrets.

But the garments fall foul of a North Korean ban, which has forbidden jeans since the early 1990s, the Guardian reports.

In an episode set in Hatfield House in Hertfordshire that aired on Monday Titchmarsh is seen with his trousers blurred out, although it is still clear he is wearing denim.

North Korea’s censors edit each hour-long episode of the series down to 15 minutes and mask Titchmarsh’s commentary with North Korean narrators.

They also add a soundtrack of instrumental music, according to the NK News website. 

Nonetheless the presenter’s Yorkshire accent can still be heard in the background.

Titchmarsh’s unlikely celebrity in North Korea was noticed in 2022, he said at the time: “I never imagined that my programmes would reach North Korea, but hopefully the calming nature of British gardening will be well received there.”

The censoring of Titchmarsh’s wardrobe is part of a campaign to shield North Koreans from the influence of western culture that began under the former leader, Kim Jong-il.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) reportedly views jeans as a “symbol of American imperialism” given their close association with the US.

The DPRK has increasingly cracked down on foreign cultural influence in recent years, with leader Kim Jong Un identifying “bourgeois culture” and “anti-socialist” behaviour as weapons that capitalist countries use to undermine North Korea.

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