Compared to South Korea, winter arrives earlier in the North, sometimes referred to as the ‘frozen land’. Between late fall and early winter – just about now – is when South Koreans prepare for winter, but in the North this takes place one or two months earlier. 

Early fall is usually when North Koreans start gearing up for winter, and lacking sufficient heating facilities, the process keeps them busy, defectors say. 

Aside from some of the apartment complexes located in the central areas of the “city of revolution,” Pyongyang, which receive central heating, people in other areas must find and stock their own firewood and coal. In order to survive through the winter, these two elements are essential. 

However, most of the mountains in the North are bare, mostly devoid of resources that can be used as firewood, and with recent tree-planting projects having been carried out, cutting down any trees also faces restrictions. Coal is produced within the country, but is exported to bring in foreign currency, making domestic market prices quite expensive. As the weather gets colder, the price begins to climb, presenting more challenges for prospective buyers. 

Even if people are able to burn coal in their homes, poor ventilation can lead to fatalities, according to defectors. The common testimony is that despite these dismal conditions, the state has failed to issue any counter-measures against cold weather, and even when cold waves are expected, the authorities have failed to issue orders informing and helping people to prepare.

The Daily NK sat down with Kim Yeong Mi , 47, who came to South Korea in 2012, to learn how North Koreans gear up for the winter and survive the severe cold.

The Daily NK [DNK]: What is the most important to North Koreans when preparing for winter? 

Kim Yeong Mi [KIM]: No doubt it’s getting enough fuel to burn. Usually in the northern regions, people prepare firewood, and in the central areas, it’s more coal-focused. If you go even further south, I’ve heard some use straws from rice. I lived in the central regions, and there they used to ration coal in the past, but now there’s no such thing. You have to buy it. Generally, after August 15th, you can feel it getting colder, so the coal prices in the markets start to creep up. 

DNK: If you mostly use coal, it doesn’t seem like it would be easy to heat up apartments. 

KIM: In apartments in the countryside, they usually have fireplaces, so you can use coal. Getting the coal all the way up to the house is a challenge in itself and it’s mostly carried out by children. 

In Pyongyang, they use hot water from thermoelectric power plants to heat up apartments [using the traditional Korean floor heating system, ondol]. But they often can’t get hot water because the power plants come to a halt. In this situation, if they don’t pass water through the pipes, they can freeze and burst, so people have no choice but to use cold water, and this exacerbates the cold. Those living in high-rises complain about having to ‘cool their homes during cold waves.’ 

DNK: How do people survive through the cold winter? 

KIM: To get by, some Pyongyang residents have been secretly installing wood-burning stoves, so they use coal to heat the place. Some even use plastic sheets indoors just like a vinyl greenhouse.

I’ve heard that recently a lot of electric heating mats are coming in from China. In other cases, some light up one 100W light bulb. But all of this is of no use if no power is running. More homes these days are using solar energy to run electricity. It’s not a surprise that people say things like 'if you trust state power, you’ll freeze to death.'

DNK: You said they renovate homes in Pyongyang. So even Party cadres have no faith in state heating? 

KIM: Cadres live in the center of Pyongyang, so there is no place for them to go out and get firewood. This is why they are changing the structure of their homes so they can use coal. They have a lot of money, so they can afford to buy coal that costs 60 USD per ton. The average person faces the situation of freezing to death if they don’t do anything, so some go to coal exporting areas and try to siphon some off so they can scrape by. 

DNK: It sounds like it would be dangerous to renovate homes and use coal.   

KIM: A lot of people are exposed to gases that are emitted when burning coal. We hear of at least one person who has died from each village during the winter. Usually, the city management companies are supposed to undertake the renovation of homes, but it’s been long since that function has become obsolete. 

If the state were to renovate fireplaces, it would have to offer state prices as opposed to regular market prices. But would the state that has cut off rations do this itself? People see the problems plain and simple that stem from the government’s indifference but they have no choice. 

DNK: So the state does not implement any measures even though people could freeze to death?   

KIM: They don’t even tell people to be careful. Personnel from the Ministry of People’s Safety [MPS] order inminban [people’s unit] members to go on patrol and then they just become bystanders. These patrol units keep watch until 2a.m. by ensuring that smoke is billowing from people’s chimneys. If they can’t see or smell it, they knock on the door and tell the family inside to open up the flue.

With things this way, people just look for their own means to survival. It’s important to fix the chimney so that smoke can easily get out. Residents take things into their own hands, and some go around homes fixing it up this way for others in exchange for money.