Recently, coal briquettes, generally used as the predominant fuel source for North Korean residents to cook and heat their homes, have seen a surge in demand, largely from merchants engaged in cottage industries who require it to manufacture their goods.

��Recently, there has been an increase in residents engaging in cottage industries, such as making and selling alcohol, snacks, shoes, and more in the markets,�� a source in South Pyongan Province reported to Daily NK on January 30th. ��In order to make alcohol, snacks, and most anything from home, they need these briquettes.��

This increasing demand for coal briquettes has given way to a new sub industry: producing the compact fuel source inside personal homes. ��They maintain their livelihoods by buying hundreds of kilograms of coal from the marketplace and selling the subsequent briquettes they create,�� the source explained of the nascent trade, adding that most of this coal is purchased on credit, rectified after the briquettes are sold.     

Manufacturing these briquettes within the confines of one's home is a laborious and grimy process; the source reported homes engaging in this business to be perpetually engulfed in black soot. A homogeneous mixture of coal, water, and mud is molded into form and then spread out in blocks on the floor to be dried by ondol [traditional Korean floor heating system], displacing families who would usually occupy the space on cold winter days. 

To increase chances for profit, many residents keep this operation running throughout the night, forcing families to sleep in the colder portions of the floor and subjecting them to the noxious side effects of mild to severe carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness and vomiting.

��If the whole family suffers and stays awake at night stoking the furnace to keep the ondol running, they can make about 130 briquettes,�� she explained. Most tuck the finished product into hay to prevent it from breaking, and those who can afford to do so wait until the coldest, bitterest days to haul one of the heavy briquettes to the market to reap bigger profits. According to the source, selling one of the blocks provides enough funds to cover an individual's basic food provisions.

Those lining up with freshly hardened coal briquettes are comparatively conspicuous among vendors, packing the roads to sell their goods at the markets, due to the slow, methodical nature of their movements, which the source attributed to the fragility of their product. ��If the briquettes break while transferring them, their daily profit goes up in smoke, so moving the briquettes requires extra care and hard work,�� she asserted.

On average, North Korean residents buy about 10 briquettes daily, and those engaged in any sort of cottage industries, making their own goods to sell, buy in the region of 100-200 briquettes. Thus, if a briquette vendor has connections with regular clients purchasing briquettes they are able to procure a relatively steady stream of profits.

In areas near the coal mine in South Pyongan Province, one ton of coal fetches 20 USD to 25 USD; a briquettes, roughly 500 KPW [approximately 0.06 USD]. The cost of the briquettes is proportional to distance: the further one lives from regions with coal mines the higher price he or she can expect to pay for coal briquettes, which can cost upwards of 1000 KPW [0.13 USD] .