In South Korea, jobs in the civil service are growing less popular because of modest salaries and the country’s top-down organizational culture. Many North Koreans, however, think of civil servants in their country as having one of the most desirable jobs available. That being said, since North Koreans do not have the freedom to pursue their own career, the most critical requirement for becoming a civil servant is having the right background.
“Civil service jobs — which is to say work for government agencies — is what most people prefer. The most popular departments, agencies and positions in the civil service are those that have eggs to eat,” a source in North Korea told Daily NK last Wednesday.
“Eggs to eat” is a slang expression in North Korea referring to the advantages that ensue from one’s position and authority. The existence of such an expression gives some indication of how widespread corruption is inside North Korea.
North Korea scored 17 points out of 100 in “2022 Corruption Perceptions Index,” a report published in January by Transparency International. North Korea ranked No. 171 out of 180 countries on the index.
In regard to how much civil servants in North Korea are paid, the source said that “government rations vary somewhat depending on responsibilities, department and agency. But since rations are effectively meaningless at present, people’s standard of living and situation depend upon how much authority they hold.”
How do people become civil servants in North Korea?
“There are no civil service exams here. There are some criteria for personnel assignments, but recommendations from agencies and work groups are also important,” the source said.
In short, civil servants are assigned through recommendation and review, without any tests being administered.
According to the source, the North Korean civil service is only open to graduates of four-year universities. Those who have completed graduate school are even more attractive candidates, while university department, family environment, class and background are also taken into account in civil service appointments.
“The biggest thing in being selected for the civil service is who recommended you. When people’s conditions and background are comparable, the important factor is who is pulling for you from up above,” the source said.
“For example, suppose that a secretary in a provincial party branch has approved a personnel assignment for a post in the branch, but the Central Committee Cadres Department has ordered that someone else be selected for the same post. If the two people’s qualifications are similar, the candidate from the Cadres Department will be given priority,” he explained.
When someone is being recommended by a high-ranking figure or agency, it’s safe to assume that individual is of good background. For that reason, personal background is the most important factor in entering the civil service, the reporting partner said.
On a related note, there appears to be a discrepancy between everyday language and legal language when it comes to civil servants.
Daily NK’s source said that the word gongmuwon, which is widely used in South Korea to mean “civil servant,” is not generally used in North Korea. Instead, the word used by North Koreans is samuwon, which can refer both to clerical staff and officials working for government agencies.
However, North Korea enacted a law about “determining the qualifications of civil servants (gongmuwon)” as Ordinance No. 1,397 of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly in 2005. Article 2 of that law defines gongmuwon as being “workers who hold certain administrative responsibilities and authority at government agencies.”
In short, it appears that the term gongmuwon is used in legal and administrative contexts, while the term samuwon is used on an everyday basis by ordinary people.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources who live inside North Korea, China and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
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