Daeborum is a traditional Korean holiday in celebration of
the first full moon of the Lunar New Year. On this day, all Koreans have traditionally
eaten a meal of five-grain rice and wild herb side dishes.
Despite an ambivalent approach to non-political folk
festivals, North Korea also celebrates the day. Indeed, when Daeborum arrives
the authorities hold classes for members of the Chosun Union of Democratic
Women to explain how to make the appropriate foods correctly. They explain that
there is deep significance to Daeborum; namely, that it is a
time for enjoyment thanks to the benevolence of Kim Jong Il, who allowed such
folk festivals to reemerge at the turn of the century.
Defectors say that people rarely warm to the topic.
Conversely, they are prone to complaint. “If we had the ingredients we would make the damn stuff,”
and, “If we could spend this time trading we’d make enough money to buy all kinds of
different side dishes.”
Women are the primary money-earners in many North Korean households.
The propaganda of the authorities is extremely remote from their realities; worse still, because the effort required to prepare the
ingredients for set-piece foods is greater than for normal meals, the amount of
work needed is greater, too.
Of course, this reality is absent from the official
propaganda narrative. “Uriminzokkiri,” a North Korean website targeting South Korea, publishes
articles at this time in praise of Kim Jong Il’s benevolent approach to
events, while the North Korean media shows images of people welcoming the
first moon of the New Year and spreading propaganda about “The happiness of the
people.”
In reality, however, “It would be better if we had no
holidays” is a more familiar refrain.
Kim Yong Ae (pseudonym), a 49-year-old defector who arrived
in the South three years ago, agrees. “When I lived in North Korea, there were
no ingredients for food for the holiday, and I do remember worrying about it,”
she recalls. “Even though no one paid attention we had
to go to lectures for hours at a time that emphasized the food for Daeborum,” her friend agrees. “I
grow weary just thinking about it.”
