As an increasingly bellicose North Korea rattles its saber, an unusual sighting in North Korean border town Sinuiju: Female soldiers in platform heels, patrolling by the banks of the Yalu River.
Among the many mysteries associated with North Korea's terrifying loose-cannon military, "Why are they wearing high heels?" is perhaps the least important of all. But it's still so mysterious: How much time do these women spend marching in heels? Do they have special techniques for dealing with blisters? Are their platform heels standard-issue? (The woman in the middle appears to be wearing a different style than the other two.) What about the scrunchies on their ponytails?
Maybe the female soldiers wear heels so they can be as tall as the men? Here's what a male North Korean soldier's footwear looks like:
The Cut's resident high-heel expert Veronica Gledhill notes that two of the above-photographed soldiers have wisely chosen heels with platforms under the toes. The platform allows them to add inches while preserving a relatively low pitch—that is, the angle of the shoe bed. By pairing an estimated four-inch heel with a one-inch platform, the soldier on the far right achieves four inches of height with a pitch comparable to that of a three-inch shoe.
Jobs that require women to perform physical feats in high heels: stripper, model, North Korean soldier, dancer in music videos, Beyoncé.
Read more posts by Maureen O'Connor
Filed Under:
north korea
,things we saw with zoom
,love and literally war
,love and war
,shoes
,platform shoes
,high heels