Real Estate Business Appears in North Korea

As the socialist order in North Korea has loosened, the attitude of “If General Kim Jong Il does not feed us, why should we respect him?” has been rapidly spreading.

“NK Vision (Vol. 8),” a publication of the Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights (NKnet), released an article written by Jiro Ishimaru, representative of the Osaka office of “Asia Press,” who has been reporting on North Korea’s domestic situation for the last 15 years.

Ishimaru cited the words of one of his fellow reporters covering North Korean domestic issues in an article titled, “Study of North Korea, which is changing by the Power of the Market.” In it, he stated that “The decline in the devotion of the North Korean people towards its leader is an unavoidable development.”

He then noted, “The recent transformation in North Korean society is a natural occurrence caused by the spontaneous proliferation and expansion of the market economy through the civilians’ own initiative, something which began after the March of Tribulation in the mid-90s. They are not the result of the guidance of the government, the Workers’ Party, nor Kim Jong Il.”

Ishimaru accounted for such a change in North Korean society through the reality of the “sale of public housing” and “private employment.”

Regarding the phenomenon of the sale of housing provided by the state, he explained, “The sale of houses has become a natural occurrence in regions with the exception of farming areas, and even realtors, or “brokers,” have surfaced. Such a reality is rooted in the mass-scale provision of residential homes after the mid-90s, places where the famine victims had lived.”

Further, he said, “The state does not allot houses to officers discharged from the army or to newly appointed officials of the Party, the People’s Safety Agency, or the National Security Agency, so securing a new home through commercial sales has become the norm.”

He explained further, “In the real estate market in Chongjin or Hamheung, one-story houses with two rooms and a kitchen are being sold for 2,000~3,000 dollars downtown. Recently, a new class called “donjoo” (which means the master of capital or money), which acquired wealth by hanging around the corrupt elite class, has been buying and selling luxury apartments in high-demand areas.”

However, he expressed, “This does not mean that a change in the legal system has allowed the private ownership of real estate to be officially acknowledged. People can just change the name on the permit to live in the state houses by giving bribes to government affiliates within the relevant departments.”

In his analysis, Ishimaru stated, “The biggest reason for this phenomenon is that the government is unable to sufficiently meet the demand for houses. Thus, the function of housing distribution in the black market has been operating well, even with the lack of governmental intervention or instruction.”

Related to the vitalization of the practice of hiring private employees, he said, “People can carry out their own business in the jangmadang by paying a certain amount of money to their affiliated factories or workplaces for private break time. House wives and students have also been selling their laboring power, especially to sewing factories.”

Due to the inability to produce cloth in North Korea, clothes are imported from China or are manufactured from imported cloth. Those who are in the clothing trade have mobilized female sewers and charge a certain processing fee per item.

He further stated, “In fishing villages, 12 and 14-year old middle-school students are employed for 1,100~1,300 won per day to make nets. This surpasses the 2,000~3,000 won salary for teachers and 10,000 ~ 15,000 won for the most coveted job as a laborer in state-operated coal mines.

He continued to elaborate, “Among young people in the city, watching the newest updates of South Korean dramas and imitating the intonation of the Seoul dialect have also become trends.” South Korean dramas and movies have also been influencing North Korean people’s mentality and reducing devotion towards the North Korean regime by the citizens.

Finally, he evaluated, “North Chosun (North Korea) is seriously ill.” He noted that the international society is only aware of the deteriorating condition, but is not aware of the cause or the form of the illness.

Representative Ishimaru predicted, “Our neighbor (North Korea), which has been ailing for a long time, has been barely getting by on aid and cannot seem to survive on its own . If appropriate treatment is not carried out, the disease will only worsen.”

He also pointed out, “If North Korean opens its door towards the world, restores the economy, and improves the human rights situation, then it can become a normal country. However, an accurate diagnosis of the disease is needed first and foremost.”