After the summer rains, the sweltering heat has revealed itself. One is hesitant to step out onto the street due to the suffocating wall of heat that waits there, but thankfully it is only temporary. Step into any building, subway or bus, and air-conditioning thwarts the attack.
Whenever I think about my luck at being able to enjoy such luxuries, memories of hot summer North Korean nights return.
Both North and South Korea rose from the ashes of the June 25th War (Korean War). However, citizens on the Korean peninsula today, whether at the political, economic or cultural level, live polar opposite lives that are almost impossible to compare.
As for summer, North Korea is a place where one cannot escape the heat, anywhere. A place where winters are dreary and summers shroud one in sweat.
Even in the social housing constructed for welfare recipients, people who lead the most difficult of lives in South Korea, a clean bathroom with a shower is installed. However, in North Korea, it is common to see people using public bathrooms, not only in the villages but in the cities as well. On top of which, water supply and pressure are poor, making it difficult for people to wash effectively.
Furthermore, the North Korean people, even in the midst of heatwaves which threaten to melt the streets, spend summer after summer carrying the grim realities of life on their backs. The most they can do to cool themselves down is to jump into a river or to pour a bucket of water over their heads.
Delicious, Dangerous Ice
At the height of summer, the most popular snack for North Korean children is ice or, of course, ice cream. In the 1970s and 80s, miniature ice snacks made in the main cities of each province grew to be extremely popular.
Ice snacks are usually made and sold by state-run food factories and convenience store cooperatives, but during the summer season shops run by youths tend to prosper as well.
Until the end of the 1980s, a huge disparity in living standards did not exist in North Korea. However, even then, I remember there being an average of five children in any one class (40~50 students) who could not afford to buy 10 won ice snacks. I can recall going to the homes of these children and being shocked to see them eating thin soups made of withered cabbage or mixed radish.
Of course, now the situation has deteriorated even further. Those children living in families which can at least afford to eat in the morning might be able to buy ice cream or ice water near their schools with the small allowance that their parents provide. The remaining children, of which there are many, look on enviously.
As of the mid-1990s, state factories have only been capable of making and selling ice. That left a niche in the market, so nowadays citizens make ice cream and ice in their homes to sell to children, soldiers, travelers or passing merchants.
Consequently, ice and ice cream can be bought easily in the jangmadang. Even in the villages, those with an eye for profit will consider buying a large refrigerator to make and sell ice and/or ice cream.
However, private enterprise has its dangers. Due to the abundance of private merchants with a limited regard for health and safety considerations, there are many customers who suffer the effects of poorly made or stored ice products. Because sellers want to make and sell them quickly, unclean water is frequently used to make ice. Sickness is almost inevitable, given the poor state of the North Korean water supply.
Sometimes, a passer-by might see the sight of children crying on the streets and begging their mothers to buy them ice snacks. I know not whether a child can know how a mother who cannot afford to buy a cheap ice snack for her child feels.
Hot Summer Nights
North Korean summer days are unbearable, but nights are even worse. Despite the existence of mosquito nets, mosquitoes are still a nuisance since, in single-story homes, five people usually sleep in one room; if one person gets up to use the restroom, the mosquitoes will sneak in.
In the absence of any other choice, North Korean people try to stay outside talking past midnight in order to avoid stepping into a mosquito and fly-filled home. Even in homes with fans, the lack of electricity makes these appliances mere display items.
Indeed, there is another sight that is commonplace early on a North Korean summer morning; people sleeping outside.
In homes vexed by mosquitoes, it is natural for people to lay a vinyl sheet out on the ground and simply sleep there. Such sights remind one that humans and animals are not so different in North Korea.
Food Preservation Problems
Another serious issue during the summer is the challenge of preserving food. On particularly harsh summer days, food prepared in the morning will be bad by lunchtime. As a result, with the lack of refrigerators or electricity to run them, people in North Korea cannot prepare food in advance or buy in bulk despite their busy lives.
Naturally, housewives who are busy trying to make a living do not have the time to prepare several side-dishes for every meal. Consequently, they will prepare side-dishes with a lot of salt and store them that way. Chili peppers are dried, while cucumber, cabbage, green onion and garlic are also preserved using salt and placed in jars or earthenware pots layer by layer, after which the jars are buried outside, as Korean people have been doing for hundreds of years.
With these few ingredients, North Koreans make (salty) side-dishes, store them in jars and eat them little by little. This is the only choice for busy North Korean housewives, and is likely to remain unchanged in the future.
Household Appliances Out of Reach
After the 1990s March of Tribulation, when several hundred thousand people starved to death, the North Korean people began to realize by themselves that only the principles of a market economy would enable them to survive without national rations. From this situation, rooted in desperate necessity, some wealth began to emerge, and those with that wealth began to spend it.
Such people bought necessary items like refrigerators and fans, but due to the lack of electricity, were mostly unable to use them. Those in well-to-do classes can acquire batteries to watch TV and use electronic products here and there, but even then the government strictly regulates these products, making their free usage difficult.
In North Korean markets currently, a Chinese fan is sold at for 25,000~30,000 North Korean won. Second-hand Japanese refrigerators usually cost 200~400,000 won and, for larger models, some are even sold at over 1,000,000 won.
As for batteries, called “self-electricity generators” in the North Korean dialect, only Chinese ones are permitted. Thus, 12V Chinese car batteries sell for 300,000 won, so the possession of one is only possible for the most affluent. Those living hand-to-mouth cannot even dream of making such purchases.
For the exhausted and worn-out people of North Korea, the things that really help alleviate the summer heat are the shade offered by nature and cool streams. I long for the day when North Korean citizens too can take off for an air-conditioned vacation in a distant land.
