It’s time for another episode of the weekly series Market Trends, where we look at the latest developments in North Korea’s economy. On this episode, we will speak with special correspondent Kang Mi Jin about the health foods that mothers prepare for their families as the temperature drops and the cold season arrives.
The cold weather brings about many hardships for ordinary North Koreans. My mother used to prepare omija tea every morning at sunrise when the temperature dropped. That cup of tea was a cure-all to us, warming us up quickly and chasing away colds. With this in mind, I’m going to talk about North Korean health foods and the related market activity.
We’ve heard that North Koreans have a diverse range of health foods that are traditionally consumed in winter and another set of foods for the summer. Can you tell us a little about the winter ones?
There is some variation across regions, but generally people all over the country try to eat boiled chicken stew and rabbit stew. Another popular dish involves boiling pork with soybean paste or salt in a stone pot. In Ryanggang Province, honey with garlic is popular. A dish called yujigo is also loved by people as a health food. I’ll talk a bit more about yujigo in a bit. In South Pyongan Province, some people eat braised duck as a health food.
When I was living in Ryanggang Province, there was a rumor swirling around in the 1990s that garlic was good for your health, so lots of people soaked garlic in honey to eat. I made it for my husband once, and it was hard for him to swallow (laughs). Typically, the garlic is marinated in honey for a week and people eat one clove at a time. The taste is slightly bitter, but it is considered a herbal remedy, so people are inclined to eat it nonetheless.
Some people boil red beans and coat them in sugar as a health food. It isn’t a very popular recipe, but there are some who regard it as a nutritional booster.
Now that you mention it, I’m curious which winter health food recipes are the most popular.
Boiled rabbit stew, chicken stew, yujigo, honey soaked garlic, and braised duck are popular because they are easy to make and easy on the wallet. However, people that don’t raise chickens or rabbits in their own homes really only have the opportunity to eat that meat once or twice a year.
When I was living in North Korea, I raised chickens, rabbits, pigs, and dogs. I really enjoyed eating chicken stew in the fall, pork in the winter, and rabbit stew and dog stew in the summer. Yujigo and honey-soaked garlic were popular dishes for us in the fall and winter because the relevant ingredients become so cheap around that time. The regional variations in health food are also reflected in the season during which the dishes are traditionally served.
Can you explain to us how to make yujigo?
First you make flour from 1 kilogram of glutinous rice. Then you mix in 10 eggs, 1 kilogram of oil, and 1 kilogram of sugar. Next, you put the mixture in a cast iron pot and boil for about 24 hours. When it’s done cooking, one tablespoon is eaten two or three times a day. North Koreans believe that eating yujigo prevents colds all through the winter.
As we talk about yujigo, I am reminded of my own experiences. My husband had poor health, particularly his liver, because of his drinking habits. I was therefore responsible for taking care of our family and the in-laws. I did so by trading in the marketplace to earn money. Because I was so busy with work, I didn’t really have time for the more elaborate health foods. That’s why I tended to make yujigo. I can still remember the revitalized expressions on his and my daughter’s faces when they ate a big spoonful.
You mentioned that ingredients for certain health foods tend to get cheaper in the fall. Can you give us some specific figures for that?
In the case of honey, the price tends to drop during collection times in the summer and fall. Honey is currently selling for 24,000 KPW (~$2.95) per kilogram in Ryanggang Province. Garlic, another important ingredient for health food recipes, is selling for 13,000 KPW (~$1.60) per kilogram. This is a 2,000 KPW price decrease from last month, when demand from kimchi season drove up the price. One kilogram of red beans sold for 5,000 KPW (~$0.60), making it a cheap option for North Koreans who want to eat healthy food.
You told us that ordinary North Koreans usually get the chance to eat rabbit or chicken stew only once or twice a year. Can you explain to us how much this meat costs in the market?
A large chicken usually weighs 2.5 kilograms and a medium sized chicken comes in at about 2 kilograms. At Ryanggang Province’s Wei Yan Market, large chickens are selling for about 25,000 KPW (~$3.07). At Pyongyang Market, rabbits were selling for 13,300 KPW each (~1.63). Chicken and rabbit stew usually contain rice and peach tree leaves. Herbs are added to provide more flavor. It costs about 60,000 KPW (~$7.35) to make a batch of yujigo that will last a long time, while it costs about 30,000 KPW (~$3.70) to make chicken or rabbit stew.
It seems that these recipes contain organic ingredients and no artificial preservatives, so they must be fairly healthy. We’ll close with a rundown of the jangmadang prices.
As we enter the harvest season, we have seen a drop in rice prices in the provinces of North and South Hwanghae and some parts of North Pyongan Province. Markets in the border regions are maintaining rice prices at about 5,000 KPW per kilogram.
One kilogram of rice costs 5,000 KPW in Pyongyang, 4,800 KPW in Sinuiju, and 5,400 KPW in Hyesan. One kilogram of corn kernels costs 1,000 KPW in Pyongyang, 1,050 KPW in Sinuiju, and 1,100 KPW in Hyesan.
Now for currency prices. One dollar was trading at 8,140 KPW in Pyongyang, 8,105 KPW in Sinuiju, and 8,140 KPW in Hyesan. One yuan was trading at 1,200 KPW in Pyongyang, 1,150 KPW in Sinuiju, and 1,200 KPW in Hyesan. One kilogram of pork sold at 12,500 KPW in Pyongyang, 12,000 KPW in Sinuiju, and 11,000 KPW in Hyesan. And finally, one kilogram of gasoline sold for 8,050 KPW in Pyongyang, 7,950 KPW in Sinuiju, and 8,100 KPW in Hyesan, while one kilogram of diesel sold for 6,200 KPW in Pyongyang and Sinuiju, and 6,400 KPW in Hyesan.
*Prices current as of November 4
