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 15^th (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.¡±