This is “NK Market Trends,” bringing you
news about the North Korean economy every week. This week we sat down with
reporter Kang Mi Jin. Recently, North Korean residents have been mobilized for
various projects and market hours have been reduced. Can you tell us a little
bit more about that?
I’d be happy to. According to a
conversation with an inside source, the North Korean authorities have launched
a ‘70-day battle’ which requires residents to be mobilized to commit their labor
to various projects. Although March 8th was International Women’s Day, North
Korean women spent that day working hard doing forced labor. The authorities
are hanging all their hopes on the upcoming 7th Party Congress (which the
mobilizations help to prepare for).
That being said, there are some criticisms
being voiced that the regime essentially skipped the international women’s
holiday. The other reason that residents are having a hard time these days is
that the regime cut the market hours in half. After breaking their back with
hard physical labor during the mobilizations, the gloomy mood is made worse by
the fact that they can’t even trade to earn a living as they normally would.
March is also the start of the much-hated lean period, known locally as the ‘barley hump,’ so the
residents rely on the jangmadang (markets, official or otherwise) to
compensate. But Kim Jong Un is blocking up access to that source of relief.
You just mentioned that March 8th was International Women’s Day. North Korean women usually treat this day like a
festive birthday party and really enjoy themselves, but you mentioned that this
year’s party mood was soured by the mobilizations?
That’s absolutely the case. North Korean
women usually enjoy themselves on March 8th. Husbands prepare a gift for their
wives or else take care of all their work so they can rest. Furthermore, the
women usually meet with friends or the local neighborhood inminban group to
watch a movie, makes delicious meals, and sing songs. Unfortunately, this year
was different because women all over the country were forced to participate in
mobilizations. The point of the mobilizations is to complete construction
projects ahead of the Party Congress in May. Furthermore, the markets are now
only open from 2pm to 6pm, so I can imagine how upset the residents must be.
They must be so distressed. Even so, did
they get the opportunity to meet up later and celebrate?
Yes, that’s exactly what happened. After
the morning mobilization session, they all gathered in one house in the
afternoon. So at least they could relieve some stress by spending time
together. The women in North Korea treat March 8th like a birthday party and
really look forward to it. That’s because there are really only two days during
the year that women can properly relax: March 8th and their birthday. That is
why, no matter how difficult and frustrating the mobilizations are, there was
no way the women could just throw away this small but precious chance to rest
and enjoy themselves.
I am curious what women do to celebrate
International Women’s Day. I’m assuming that they make some delicious foods?
Absolutely. Whenever people get together in
groups, whether they are men, women, or children, they love to chow down,
right? Without food or activities, it can be a little boring to simply meet and
then part ways. Most North Korean families can’t eat delicious foods for no
apparent reason. Money is too tight for that luxurious kind of living. North
Koreans don’t eat out as much as South Koreans. Each family has their own
little customs for how they celebrate the holiday.
According to the source whom I spoke with
yesterday, the women get together to discuss what they’d like to do for the
holiday. Then they pool their cash and make some delicious foods. Some
residents even buy a movie or drama CD at the market. Because of the market
restrictions, it is extremely hard to find CDs these days. But the women do
what they can to try to enjoy with each other in festive and relaxing ways.
Even though they meet in the afternoon on a weekday, the vibe is really more
like a ‘weekend with nothing to do’ feeling.
Even though it’s just a single day, I’m
glad that the women can have a bit of fun. Back to what you were saying about
the market hours being reduced to the afternoon only. I’m assuming that is
causing a lot of problems for the residents, no?
Yes. After the residents go to different
construction yards to lend a hand in the morning, it becomes harder to get out
to the market. The same difficulty applies to both the merchants and the
customers. For the vendors, it takes two hours just to move the product in and
out and set up the stall. So they are left with very little time to actually
sell. Under such conditions, it has also become harder for the customer to
locate the products they want to purchase.
You get the picture, right? People are
wandering to and fro looking for a product while their feet hurt and they are
exhausted. I have been through that same experience, so I know exactly what it
is like. I have one word of advice for Kim Jong Un: Stop relentlessly pursuing
missiles that do nothing to improve the people’s standard of living and start
investing energy into making policies that improve the people’s live. I also
want to extend my best wishes and support on behalf of the international
community to the North Korean residents. The outside world is fighting to
alleviate human rights problems and bring freedom and democracy to you. We
haven’t forgotten about you.
We’ve also heard that the regime is not
merely shortening the hours of the jangmadang, but is also cracking down on
alley markets as well?
From the time that Kim Jong Un rose to
power until now, the authorities have not been cracking down on the alley
merchants. These merchants enjoyed the freedom to sell their wares unmolested,
but now they are being chased down by state security. The residents can’t just
stop trading, so some are complaining, ‘Where are we supposed to go now? If
they control the markets too strongly, the country will return to the era of
Kim Jong Il, when it was impossible to make a living.’ Alley merchants near Ryanggang
Province’s Hyesan jangmadang have been avoiding the crackdowns by getting up
early to engage in trade. The mobilizations begin at 9am so the alley merchants
just try to move as much product as possible before then.
Hearing this news, it has been hard to find
vigor and vitality in the faces of passersby, as everyone has been hit hard by
the mental and physical oppression. However, during the so called ‘70-day battle,’ any speech interpreted as anti-regime is punished strictly, so people
are not expressing their frustrations outwardly, but rather groaning to
themselves or talking among their families about the recent hardships.
Doesn’t it mean that if the regime is
cracking down on the alley markets that they might someday begin to crackdown
on the jangmadang as well?
We’ll have to wait until the ’70-day battle’ is finished on May 2 to know for sure. However, there is some talk that if the
sanctions provoke the regime to crackdown on the markets, then the country may
very well return to the desperate state that it was in during the mid- 1990s.
During that time, a massive famine wrecked havoc on the country and scores of
people starved to death. The residents must be scared stiff that the jangmadang
might be shuttered or controlled continuously. If that is the case, there is no
way of knowing whether another famine might result. But I believe that if
anyone can get through this, it is the residents of North Korea. Stay strong!
Everyone here at Unification Media Group is supporting you.
I hope all the residents will cheer up, and we promise to keep on working hard so that in the road ahead, the women in
North Korea will be able to enjoy International Women’s Day. Finally, let’s
take a look at the market’s performance over the past week.
In response to the international community’s
sanctions against North Korea, we did see some prices rise. However, in some
regions we actually saw certain prices drop in some areas.
A kg of rice cost 5100 KPW in Pyongyang,
5150 KPW in Sinuiju, and 5080 KPW in Hyesan. A kg of corn kernels cost 2200 KPW
in Pyongyang, KRW 2190 in Sinuiju, and 2300 KRW in Hyesan. The exchange rate
was 8150 KPW to the dollar in Pyongyang, 8200 KPW in Sinuiju, and 8170 KPW in
Hyesan. The exchange rate for the Chinese Renminbi was 1300 KPW per yuan in
Pyongyang, 1290 KPW per yuan in Sinuiju, and 1270 KPW per yuan in Hyesan. A kg
of pork cost 11,000 KPW in Pyongyang, 12,000 KPW in Sinuiju, and 11,700 KPW in
Hyesan. A kg of gasoline cost 7100 KPW in Pyongyang, 7160 KPW in Sinuiju, and
KRW 7200 in Hyesan. A kg of diesel cost 5450 KPW in Pyongyang, 5300 KPW in
Sinuiju, and 5200 KPW in Hyesan. This has been a rundown of the Weekly
Marketplace Prices.*
*This segment reflects market conditions for the week of March 7-11.
