Северная Корея запретила школьникам делать жест «сердечка» из пальцев

In their latest crackdown on forms of self-expression associated with South Korea, the North Korean authorities have frowned on the so-called finger-heart gesture popular among young people.  According to a Seoul-based online newspaper, Daily NK, on Thursday, a high school in Kaechon, South Pyongan Province, caught a number of students making finger hearts, a gesture that involves bringing the index fingers and thumbs together to form a heart. The school tried to find out who’d taught the gesture to the students but failed, and instead had the students write letters of apology on the grounds that it’s a nonsocialist act.  The gesture of affection apparently has become a new means of communication among North Korean teens on the back of the strong popularity of the Korean Wave.  Experts believe that despite the North Korean authorities’ efforts to crack down on outside information and culture, it’s difficult for them to restrict everyday forms of self-expression among teens.