Unification Media Group (UMG): Welcome to the weekly news rundown from North Korea. Today we’re here speaking again with reporter Kang Mi Jin. What do you have for us today?
Kang Mi Jin (Kang): North Korea, like the rest of the region, is experiencing a serious heat wave. Yesterday in the South Hamgyong Province city of Hamju, temperatures reached 37 degrees, and the entire east coast has been enveloped by the hot weather. Even places that are relatively cool in North Korea, like Ryanggang Province, have recorded temperatures of 30 degrees. When it gets this warm, people search for nice, refreshing areas, and according to our North Korean sources, it means people throughout the country are heading to the valleys and swimming in the rivers to cool themselves off.
In these times, local Ministry of People’s Security (police) units and schools are busy keeping the citizens informed about the dangerous conditions. In the countryside, it’s the height of weed-pulling season so the residents use their lunch hours to go to the rivers, reservoirs and valleys to cool off. The regional security offices focus on maintaining order and preventing accidents, which occasionally occur.
UMG: Here in South Korea we are experiencing the heatwave as well. While we are all doing what we can to beat the heat, is there anything in particular the North Koreans like to eat in this weather?
Kang: The other day I was in contact with a North Korean citizen who told me that naengmyon (cold buckwheat noodles) and ice cream have been selling very well in the markets. Also, it’s a common sight to see people selling watermelons that have been chilled in tubs of ice water. Some people have been putting them through blenders at home, mixing them with strawberries and ice to make a refreshing treat.
Some of the vendors with freezers have been making popsicles and ice cream to sell at the markets. As little as 1-2 years ago, many were grumbling that there wasn’t enough electricity to keep ice frozen long enough to keep a business running, but now with the proliferation of solar panels, the electricity generated at homes has gone a long way in addressing this problem.
UMG: North Koreans like to cool down with naengmyeon and ice cream just like South Koreans do. Fruit is another good food for the hot weather. What kinds of fruit do North Koreans eat in the summer?
Kang: I was told on the phone that watermelons are very popular, and when I asked how they are getting along in the heat, my contact told me that they had just eaten watermelon right before talking on the phone.
The people who have refrigerators in their homes can eat fruits and save them for later, and even people without fridges at home can get ice at the market and fill a basin with water to chill the watermelon in. Blueberries can also be put in bowls of ice and eaten as a cool treat. A woman in Ryanggang Province told me that she bought an apple at the market and then put it in the freezer for a day before eating it frozen. She said it was refreshing and delicious.
UMG: In the summer, it’s very important to eat healthily. The 17th was the first of the dog-days in North Korea, is there a traditional food for that day?
Kang: Yes it was ‘Cho-bok’ the beginning of the dog days. These days people are going to restaurants to eat ‘boshintang’ (dog stew). Not all North Koreans will wait in line at restaurants though – many prefer to make boshintang and other invigorating dishes at home. Every year, I survey the prices of certain items at the market, and the price of meat has gone up slightly this year.
Of course there are some slight variations on the summer health foods in the different regions, but boshintang is eaten throughout the country. In North Korea, restaurants have not become widely commercialized like in South Korea, so people more commonly eat in their own homes. In Ryanggang Province, people eat boshintang in the summer, and boiled chicken or rabbit soup in the spring and fall. In the winter, sticky rice cake with oil and eggs is most common.
UMG: In South Korea during the dog days of summer, people like to eat samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup). In North Korea, are there many types of meat available?
Kang: Yes, which naturally brings me back to the markets. These days, one can find dog, lamb and others types of meat at the markets, and the prices have been rising. In the past, even beef was difficult to find at the market and was not commonly sold. Now I am told by North Koreans that there’s more beef available.
Also, each household can purchase the particular kind of beef they prefer. As for other dishes, usually only the head of the family gets to eat boiled chicken, but for boshintang, the whole family eats it together.
Even under the scorching sun, vendors at markets across the country are diligently selling meat. According to sources in Kangwon Province, beef from grazing cattle is sent to Pyongyang and canned for distribution to children at the preschools and daycare centres.
Naturally, crime and corruption in the distribution process prevents some beef from reaching its final destination, but the situation has greatly improved compared to the past. My sources added that the amount of damaged beef on the daily markets has likely decreased. Of all the different types of meats commonly consumed in North Korea, beef is the highest quality.
UMG: You said that North Koreans have noticed a rise in beef prices at the markets as they shop for healthy foods. Has the price of fruit gone up as well?
Kang: According to my sources, watermelons these days sell from 7,000 KPW per kg. In Ryanggang Province, it is 7,560 KPW and in Pyongsong it is 7,470 KPW. Peaches are the most popular fruit sold in North Korea and at the production complex in Hoeryong they sell for 10,000 KPW, but in Ryanggang and other provinces they are about 1-2,000 KPW more expensive. In South Korea as well these days peaches are very popular and in North Korea peaches are available. In Ryanggang Province, 1 kg of peaches is 15,000 KPW.
UMG: Thanks for joining us today Mi Jin!
*Translated by Nate Kerkhoff
