You become a legal adult in North Korea at 17 and immediately receive one of two types of documents – identifying you as either a resident of Pyongyang or not.
The type of ID will determine how much freedom of movement you are allowed. Most North Koreans cannot leave the county without the state’s permission but Pyongyang residents have fewer restrictions.
Explanation:
This is also the age when all North Koreans will join the youth league, officially named the Kim Il-sung Socialist Youth League. This organisation is a copy of the Soviet komsomol, however, unlike the USSR, membership is universal.
Becoming an adult also means one has a duty to vote. Or rather, to go to the polling station, take a ballot with one name on it, bow to the leaders’ portraits and put the ballot in the box. This is voting in North Korea, and there has never been a single vote against the official candidate since 1958.
