North Korean flood victims along the Yalu River fear missing their annual kimchi-making as home reconstruction extends beyond an October deadline. Despite Kim Jong Un’s orders to complete new housing by Oct. 10, residents of Sinuiju and Uiju who lost homes in July’s floods still await their return.
North Korea is currently building houses for 4,400 families in Sinuiju and Uiju, which were devastated by floods this summer. As part of the project, more than 100,000 construction workers are staying in the flooded areas for the duration of the reconstruction.
“There were already concerns at the construction sites that the houses wouldn’t be ready by the Workers’ Party’s founding day. Then at the end of last month, Kim Jong Un made another appearance and ordered the construction managers to prioritize quality, so they breathed a sigh of relief,” a source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK recently.
The Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported that Kim Jong Un visited the flood-stricken areas of North Pyongan province again on Sept. 29.
“Quickly alleviating the suffering of the flood victims and restoring the damaged areas to normal in terms of living and production is the top priority of the party and the government at present. Housing construction must be completed with the highest quality and in the shortest time,” the newspaper quoted Kim as saying.
Construction managers focused on Kim’s comment that it was “always necessary to make the greatest effort to fully guarantee the quality of buildings,” which they interpreted to mean that they have a little more time.
While that may be a relief to construction managers, it is having the opposite effect on flood victims.
With predictions that homes will not be completed until mid-November, flood victims are having trouble sleeping at night. Their main concern is that a later move will make it impossible to prepare kimchi, which could jeopardize their livelihoods.
“Families pickle cabbage and radishes in late October or early November to serve as side dishes for half the year. Missing this kimchi-making season is tantamount to ruining half a year’s harvest,” the source said.
With so many mouths to feed on the construction project, vegetables were already in short supply. Now the flood victims have to worry about missing the kimchi season as well.
The source said, “Farms not only in Sinuiju and Uiju, but also in neighboring counties, have made a point of supplying all farm products – including cabbages, radishes, pumpkins, eggplants, cucumbers, and chili peppers – to the construction teams doing the work. In fact, people are worried that the workers are eating up all the vegetables grown on the farms.”
The Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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