Daily NK Snapshots are synopses of select articles from our Korean website. Snapshots provide a window into the Daily NK’s reporting—domestic news items that are primarily intended for a North Korean audience given their lack of an independent, objective source of information—and into everyday life and society within North Korea for international audiences.
Residents React to Samjiyon’s Promotion to “City” Status
Samjiyon was recently elevated in status from that of a “county” to that of a “city.” On the one hand, this change was welcomed by its residents for several reasons. Firstly, there are anticipations of improved ration allocations. Though residents of Samjiyon (as the purported birthplace of Kim Jong Il) originally received rations at a similar level as that of the larger Pyongyang metropolitan area (“the capital of the revolution”), the designation of being a city has engendered the expectation that Samjiyon will receive even better rations and at a similar level to that of the central areas of Pyongyang. Additionally, the quality of the recently constructed housing that the state is providing is said to be at “a level that ordinary people would never have dreamed of,” and residents are excited about the quality of public facilities such as gymnasiums and cultural centers.
On the other hand, however, concerns of forced relocation have been raised, as the promotion of Samjiyon to a city carries the implication that the North Korean government will proactively manage the residential population to enforce the songbun classification system. That is, residents anticipate that those who have been sent to a correctional labor camp even once, have a low songbun status, or have watched foreign media are likely to be evicted from Samjiyon.
Full article in Korean by Lee Sang Yong here
Farmers Turn to Alternative Sources of Income
Given the low yield from this year’s harvest, farmers are reportedly leaving rural areas to seek out alternative sources of income in nearby cities or mining areas. The collection of gold dust has long been a secondary source of income for farmers, as only basic tools such as shovels and barbs are required and the North Korean authorities do not heavily regulate this activity, thus requiring little capital and entailing low risk.
Amongst these conditions, farming workers are failing to show up to work at the collective farms with the rate of attendance being less than 30%. As the yield from the harvest is insufficient for the workers to receive allocations after the state takes its share, the workers are not even bothering to show up to the farms and choose instead to try and secure their livelihood elsewhere. A source reported that “Farming workers are currently of the opinion that it is better to be criticized for not working on the farms than to starve to death.”
Full article in Korean by Ha Yoon Ah here
Soldier Collapses During Chemical Warfare Training
Daily NK recently learned that an 18-year-old soldier in a women’s division unit of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) in South Hamgyong collapsed and was hospitalized due to gas poisoning in late September. The accident occurred during chemical warfare training. The soldier experienced difficulty breathing, exhibited symptoms of cardiac arrest, and fell unconscious, and she was immediately taken to a medical clinic.
Soldiers suffering from heat, respiratory, and skin diseases are currently not exempted from training sessions, though they were in the past. In addition, the chemical warfare trainings seem to be using a different gas than was used in the past. This particular incident involving the 18-year-old soldier was not reported to senior levels of the KPA in a timely manner. Though the hospital reported the accident and patient’s condition to the Military Manpower Administration, the General Staff Department was only made aware of the incident two months after its occurrence, according to Daily NK sources.
Full article in Korean by Jeong Tae Joo here
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
