Electric bicycles are popular among some North Koreans despite their prohibitive cost, Daily NK has learned.
“You can find plenty of electric bikes in marketplaces nowadays,” a Daily NK source in North Hamgyong Province said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. “I’ve heard you can’t smuggle in [the bikes], but with so many people asking for them, plenty of people sell them after bringing them in by boat.”
Electric bikes currently go for RMB 3,500 (around USD 494) in North Korean markets, a price in excess of KPW 4 million in North Korean currency. With a kilogram of rice selling for KPW 5,000 in North Korean markets, one could buy about 800 kilograms of rice for the price of an electric bike.
“That price puts [electric bikes] beyond the imagination of people who are living day-to-day, but families with money can’t live without them,” the source said.
People buy electric bikes despite the price tag because they are faster than conventional bikes, and riders can climb hills with very little pedal power.
Mobility equals competitiveness for most people making a living from commercial activities, so demand for electric bicycles — just as mobile as scooters — remains high.
Asked if recharging the bikes was difficult due to power shortages, the source said people draw power from nearby military bases and factories.
“You can do anything in this world with money, but people without money struggle just to put food on the table day-to-day.
“With more people riding electric bikes, thefts are also out of control. Thieves call electric bikes a bonanza, and they’re really good at nicking them.”
Thieves target electric bikes because they can make money by taking them apart and selling their batteries, tires, seats, and other parts.
“As always, even if you go to work, they don’t pay you or provide you with rations, so many people just keep their jobs on paper and make a living selling things or stealing,” the source said. “Be it electric bikes or regular bikes, people steal them all, repainting them and selling their parts in markets, so if you get your bike stolen, there’s no real way to get it back.”
Some well-off people raise hunting dogs and build their fences high to prevent thefts, but thieves — figuring this means those homes have items worth stealing — just hide nearby and wait, sneaking inside when the owners leave.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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