Special rations in time for Kim Jong Il¡¯s birthday [Feb.16] celebrations were not handed out this year in North Korea, although crackers and sweets did make their way to children as ¡°gifts from the Marshal,¡± despite their pitiful quality.

¡°In the past, cases of alcohol, oil, and other special rations were handed out for this holiday but for the past few years this has not been the case,¡± a source in Yangkang Province told Daily NK on Tuesday. ¡°Though the children were given crackers, they were hard as rocks and not adequately processed; it certainly didn¡¯t feel like a holiday.¡±

Just as during Kim Jong Eun's birthday, crackers and candy were distributed, but the crackers were heavily laden with cornmeal, so people "couldn't tell if they were cornmeal crackers or rice cake crackers," he said. ¡°The candies had so much yeot [a taffy-like substance made from grains] in them that people joked around calling them lumps of yeot [the Korean term for this taffy sounds similar to an obscenity for waste matter]."

Most felt that these special rations were so significantly low in quality compared to previous handouts that people would have been better off not receiving them. ¡°Most people don¡¯t think much of it anymore if they don¡¯t get any rations during the holidays, because they¡¯re so used to not receiving anything,¡± he said. ¡°Even if they hold ¡®loyalty singing gatherings¡¯ people are mobilized to the event, but most focus more on business and their personal life."

North Korea designated February 16th as a public holiday in 1975, and on the former leader¡¯s 50th birthday in 1992, Pyongyang officially named it one of the biggest national celebrations. In 2012, the year following the leader¡¯s death, February 16th was renamed the ¡°Day of the Shining Star¡± and rations were provided to help rally public sentiment around the occasion. 

North Korea has typically used holiday rations as an essential means to promote the ¡°consideration¡± of the Kim leadership for the public and encourage loyalty. But in the recent years, even on the Taeyangjeol [Day of the Sun],  which celebrates the birthday of founder Kim Il Sung, rations have been unavailable.

¡°The state seems to know that people don¡¯t carry significant, if any, expectations for special rations,¡± a high-ranking North Korean defector told the Daily NK on condition of anonymity. ¡°It reflects Kim Jong Eun¡¯s method of governance, which purports to look after children and other vulnerable groups, leaving the general population to fend for themselves."