Plans for a large naengmyeon [cold noodles] restaurant in Musan County, North
Hamgyung Province have received a chilly response from the locals. The burden on
residents, who must provide much of the material required for its construction,
is steep. As previously reported by the Daily NK, they are frequently hit with
de facto tax payments to compensate for supply shortages in the North.
“The restaurant has entered the final stage
of construction, but residents could care less,” a source in North Hamgyung Province
reported to Daily NK on August 20th. “In a big restaurant like that, you can
bet the prices will be high,” he said, indicating that most residents would
find it difficult to afford to dine there.
Musan’s naengmyeon
restaurant will be the county’s biggest, able to accommodate 150-200 patrons.
At current market prices, a regular bowl of the noodles costs 2000-3000 KPW, though
at a restaurant specializing in the fare, like Pyongyang’s Okryugwan, the price
can go as high as 6000 KPW; There is testimony that Musan’s noodle eatery will
be similar, with prices in the 5000-6000 KPW range.
Kim Jong Eun’s era has seen nationwide
construction efforts, both large and small scale, with justifications of
improving residents’ lives; most say it only makes matters more stressful. In
the most recent case, “Workers received orders from their employers to provide
timber, planks, or cement to the effort,” the source said. “The military are
the ones building the restaurant, so they should be provided with the proper materials
from the Korean People’s Army. But supply shortages mean that the strain shifts
to us instead.”
Construction on the project began in late
spring, stalled for a number of months due to lack of construction materials
and recently picked back up to apply finishing touches to the interior, after
procuring the required supplies.
“To avoid criticism or other repercussions,
if people cannot afford to purchase the
materials, many use the boards [approximately 3.5 meters in length] or timber
from the frames of their homes,” he went on to explain, adding that houses with
more economic means have offered up to 20kg of cement.
The military tried to cajole residents, asking,
“The Marshal [is building this restaurant] out of care for the people, so even
if it’s a little, shouldn’t we give what we can?“ and “This restaurant is for us
to be able to eat well, so shouldn’t we demonstrate our happiness to the
General?” the source reported.
In addition to the new Musan restaurant,
Orangcheon Power Station and waterway repair works are underway, and in this
case, if not participating in the construction itself, a 10,000 KPW fee is
imposed on residents. Most, unable to procure the funds, are choosing to
contribute manpower instead.
“If you impose stringent monitoring,
tightened border measures to prevent defections, thus hampering border
smuggling and trade activities, and then demand materials for construction
efforts on top of it all, naturally people are going to complain.” Parting with
cement, lumber, and other construction materials, residents grumble, “Why
should we have to suffer for a restaurant that only those fat cats [a
disparaging term often applied to the authorities] can afford to go to?”
The source concluded that competition
between Party cadres vying to demonstrate their loyalty to Kim Jong Eun, thus
securing personal safety and prestige, only seeks to amplify resident distrust
of the authorities. “The military tells us the
restaurant is for us, but the displays of loyalty by Kim Jong Eun’s sycophants
means we suffer the most. They use the pretext of loyalty to put all the work
on us without doing their fair share”, he concluded.
