North Korean women in long padded jackets pose for a photo while ice skating at the People's Open-air Ice Rink on the bank of the Taedong River in Pyongyang in this Jan. 11 photo by Choson Sinbo, a pro-Pyongyang media outlet with headquarters in Tokyo. Choson Sinbo-Yonhap

By Jung Da-min

Long padded jackets, which have been at the center of winter fashion trends in South Korea in recent years, appear to be widely worn by North Koreans as well, according to recent photos from Choson Sinbo, a pro-Pyongyang media with headquarters in Tokyo.

The photos, taken on Jan. 11 at the People's Open-air Ice Rink on the bank of the Taedong River in Pyongyang on Jan. 11, show many North Korean people wearing long-length padded jackets in various colors and designs.

According to YouTuber Ttohyang, a North Korean defector who runs a YouTube channel where she talks about life in the North, long padded jackets there are called dongbok, which means winter clothes, and became popular among young North Koreans about 10 years ago.

"It was in 2009 when the long padded jacket became popular in the North," Ttohyang said in her YouTube video uploaded in February last year, talking about the fashion trend in North Korea. "The long padded jackets, which covered just over the top of lap, were called dongbok in North Korea and worn by many people, including me and my friends."

She added that the long padded jackets were especially popular among young North Koreans around that time, while the older generation loved to wear jackets that looked like the one worn by North Korea's late-leader Kim Jong-il, father of the country's current leader Kim Jong-un.

A North Korean woman and boy in long padded jackets at the People's Open-air Ice Rink on Jan. 11. Choson Sinbo-Yonhap

North Korean women in long padded jackets at the People's Open-air Ice Rink. Choson Sinbo-Yonhap

North Koreans in long padded jackets enjoying ice skating at the People's Open-air Ice Rink. Choson Sinbo-Yonhap