This is “NK Market Trends,” bringing you
weekly updates on the North Korean economy. This week we sat down with reporter
Kang Mi Jin to discuss the latest trends; but first, let’s take a look at how
the jangmadang (markets, official or otherwise) has been doing.
We’ll begin by providing a rundown of the
price of rice, the currency conversion rates, and the cost of other goods in
North Korean markets. The price of 1 kg of rice was 5,019 KPW in Pyongyang,
4,970 KPW in Sinuiju, and 4,980 KPW in Hyesan. The USD was trading at 8,190 KPW
in Pyongyang and Hyesan, and 8,260 KPW in Sinuiju. The Renminbi was trading at
1,320 KPW in Pyongyang, 1,330 KPW in Sinuiju, and 1,300 KPW in Hyesan. Moving
along, the cost of one kg of corn kernels was 1,980 KPW in Pyongyang, 1,960 KPW
in Sinuiju, and 2,200 KPW in Hyesan. One kg of pork was selling at 10,560 KPW
in Pyongyang, 10,500 KPW in Sinuiju, and 10,900 KPW in Hyesan. Gasoline was
trading at 6,710 KPW per kg in Pyongyang, 6,550 KPW in Sinuiju, and 6,880 KPW
in Hyesan. Finally, 1 kg of diesel fuel was selling at 5,150 KPW in Pyongyang,
and 5,000 KPW in both Sinuiju and Hyesan. This has been a rundown of the latest
market prices in North Korea.
1. That has been a description of the week’s
prices. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating New Year’s and then
transitioned into the new year. And now, Lunar New Year’s celebrations just
flew by. Today, I’m going to ask reporter Kang Mijin about what foods were
popular during the Lunar New Year’s holiday. Can you tell us a little about
that?
I’d be happy to. But first I want to ask
you a question. Announcer Kyoung Ju, you usually eat tteokguk (rice cake soup)
during the Lunar New Year’s celebration, don’t you? After I resettled in South
Korea, I began eating tteokguk every year, but when I first arrived I was
filled with questions about this culinary tradition. It was just a few short
months after my arrival when I received an invitation from some nuns to spend
the Lunar New Year’s holiday together. I was so confused by the menu that day.
Do you know why?
1-1. Perhaps it was more diverse than you
were used to…?
I was certainly surprised by the diversity
of the food being served. But that was not the most shocking thing for me. Tteokguk
took the crown. There were tensions in my mind between the advanced and
industrialized nation of South Korea and this very simple and cheap rice cake
dish. At that meal, one of the nuns asked me what sorts of food I ate in North
Korea during Lunar New Year. I told her that we don’t eat tteokguk, but rather
we make songpyeon (a sweet, stuffed glutinous rice cake). The nuns said that
tteokguk was the most iconic food associated with Lunar New Year’s because when
you eat it, you’re said to age one year. These days, some North Koreans in the
regions near the Chinese border and near Kaesong eat tteokguk, but most North
Koreans continue to eat songpyeon.
2. In South Korea, the iconic food for each
holiday is a bit different. For example, we eat tteokguk during Lunar New
Year’s and songpyeon during Chuseok. How about in North Korea?
Yeah, that’s certainly the case in North
Korea as well. During Chuseok we make foods from the new harvest and during the
15th day of the Lunar New Year we eat five grain rice. And during all holidays,
birthdays, and other various events, we always have songpyeon rather than
jeolpyen (pounded rice cake). That’s because rice is hard to come by in North
Korea. With 1kg of rice, you can make more songpyeon than jeolpyeon. You can stretch
the amount even further by combining the rice with soybean. That also makes the
tteok last longer as well. Unlike South Korea, when you can just grab some
tteok and eat it any day of the year, in North Korea it is a food tied to
special events.
3. It seems like most North Koreans have to
be cost conscious at all times. I’m curious what other foods you used to eat
during Lunar New Year’s when you were living in North Korea.
I lived on a farm in Yanggang Province. It
was a potato farming region, so we ate a lot of foods that had potato in them.
We ate a lot of tteok, including songpyeon and jeolpyeon. I could also make
tteok from millet, which I farmed. To make the filling for mandu (dumplings), I
chopped up and sauteed cabbage and sliced pork. For dinner, we used to prepare
a dish called nong-ma noodle soup, which was much loved. I used to make tofu
from the soybeans I farmed. In the summer, I would go to the mountains to collect
mushrooms and grasses to make side dishes with.
We also made bread from flour. Frying up
some twisted breadsticks really made it feel like a holiday. Because we had so
many potatoes, we used to make potato tteok and steamed white rice cakes from
potatoes. Seafood was also popular during the holidays, if you could get it.
Depending upon your income level, people loved to eat mackerel and pollack. I
don’t know why it is, but my favorite holiday food was always the refreshing
and delicious Korean staple: kimchi. Especially when paired with some noodle
soup.
There are also some regional differences
for the traditional Lunar New Year’s foods. In Pyongan Province, they eat a lot
of jaltteok, which is made from glutinous rice. I went to South Pyongan in
2000. The trains were put on ten day standby thanks to a power outage so I had
to spend the holiday over there. They made a kind of corn bread there that
tasted like nothing I’d ever had before or since.
4. Can you tell us a little bit about the
regions in North Korea that serve tteokguk during the Lunar New Year’s holiday?
Certainly. I talked to a resident over the
phone not too long ago who told me as much. At households that have relatives
who live in South Korea, the trend of eating tteokguk during Lunar New Year’s
is slowly emerging. I can’t release details about the exact region because it
is important to protect the identity of the source. But this source’s father is
a native of Seoul and he ate tteokguk every year just like he did in South Korea.
People regarded the father’s tradition as
rather strange, asking, “Doesn’t it get stuck in your throat?” But he
stubbornly continued on. But these days, the trend is catching on. People in
the border regions see it on dramas and imitate. However, the tteokguk is a bit
different up North. It is homemade from flour. The source says that people put
dough strips made from flour into boiling mandu (dumpling) soup in order to
create the dish. Through the influence of South Korean media, it seems like certain
elements of culture are becoming unified throughout the peninsula. The North
Koreans who are listening to this broadcast right now are playing an important
role in that process.
5. I’m eager for the day that our cultures,
both north and south, can meld together. I wanted to ask you about something I
heard from another North Korean defector. She said that in North Korea during
the Lunar New Year, the whole neighborhood gets together to eat tteok. Is that
true?
Yes, that’s right. People share the tteok
that they have made with the surrounding houses. In this way, people get to
taste many varieties and flavors. My mother lived in a very rural town for a
long time. So she got to know most of the other people who lived near her. That
means that during holidays, she spent a very long time exchanging tteok with
all the people that she knew. It was even said that she ate tteok from every
house in town. I have missed that little tradition since coming to South Korea.
6. Now that we’ve talked about North Korean
cuisine, do you think we could speak a little bit about what sorts of food we
eat in South Korea during the Lunar New Year for our listeners?
Sure. In North Korea, people mainly eat
bread, songpyeon, noodle soup, and dumplings. here in South Korea, people eat
dumplings and tteokguk. They also eat a kind of meatball that is made by
combining chopped meat, carrots, and onions with egg, flour, and tofu. South
Koreans like to make all sorts of Korean pancakes called jeon. They also like a
dish made from stir fried sweet potato noodles in sesame oil with
vegetables called japchae. A sweet and refreshing rice-based drink
called sikhye is also commonly consumed.
I hope that everyone listening to this had
a warm and happy and healthy Lunar New Year’s! I hope that you and your
family got all that you were wishing for! Until next time!
