Every year in spring, factories, state
enterprises, farms and of course schools and hospitals are mobilized en masse
to conduct tasks relating to public sanitation; a form of collectivist
spring-cleaning for the state. At this time, the ruling Chosun Workers’ Party regularly stresses
that one must clean one’s environment and undertake street and workplace
sanitation as if one were in one’s own home, calling this approach a form of
patriotism.
Needless to say, people are obliged to accept the mobilization order
whether they like it or not, and since one could face public opprobrium for
betrayal in the event that the order is not completed by April 15th (the
anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung), most people do so.
The areas that must be given the most attention, and thus
the ones that give mobilized civilians the most trouble, are around railroad
tracks and roads. Many foreigners traditionally visit North Korea during
April (for the April Spring Friendship Art Festival, for instance), so the
authorities take a special interest in public aesthetics for this reason. Not only must citizens
paint the insides of their houses; they also have to attend to fences and even roofs
using a mixture of poster color and powdered lime.
Professionally manufactured powdered lime, the most important material for this work, isn’t
readily available in public markets, let alone state-run stores. It has been a long
time since state-owned firms producing quicklime have been in full
operation. Though some people still resolve
the issue by producing it at home for their own use, others have launched a cottage industry: they go to limestone quarries and transport the raw product of
their own accord, before preparing it for sale in backyard furnaces.
One defector, who used to oversee the importation of quantities
of limestone in spring, told Daily NK, “I worked for a long time at a cement
factory, so I had the right skills and saw an opportunity to make money. I saw
there was massive unmet demand for powdered lime during spring, so I figured
that I ought to start producing it. At first I loaded it on my back, but I started needing more so I did it by car. It was fun to turn rocks into money.”
“First I made a furnace in my yard with firebricks,
and then bought limestone in bulk from the mine. I cooked up an average of
200kg per day. If you heat limestone to 900 degrees it becomes quicklime, but
if the temperature is not right it can explode and burn you. March
and April, the sanitation months, are peak season. It was unbelievably tough.”
According to the defector, 30kg of limestone costs 40 won
per kilo. 20kg of coal is required to cook that 30kg of limestone powder, and
this is 80 won per kilo. One kilo of the finished powdered lime sells for 180
won wholesale and 250 won in public markets. The profits are therefore considerable.
“It seems that what North Korea calls ‘socialist
civilization’ is ultimately achieved via the markets,” the source mused. “Paint
also comes from military factories, given that the enamel, lacquer and thinner used
in tank paint all also enter the market to resolve [shortages]. March and April really are like spring for the culture of commerce.”
