Serious problems have surfaced in new homes built in flood-hit regions last year, less than 12 months after construction finished. People say the issues were unavoidable due to shoddy construction as authorities rushed to meet deadlines despite supply shortages.
“Several defects have shown up in the homes built in the flood zones of Kimhyongjik county,” a source in Ryanggang province told Daily NK recently. “There are lots of problems—people are paying out of their own pockets to cut holes in their roofs and install new chimneys because smoke can’t escape.”
A photo of some of the homes obtained by Daily NK shows roofs with tiles that have fallen off or been damaged. Someone can be seen fixing the roof tiles. The houses’ exteriors look patchy, as if they’re damp.
The photo shows new houses built in parts of Kimhyongjik county that were flooded last year. The homes are occupied.
The houses were thrown up quickly in about four months after floods hit the Yalu River valley last year.
At the time, North Korean authorities deployed more than 200,000 people—including party work brigades, the Paektusan Hero Youth Shock Brigade and volunteers from various social and work organizations—to parts of North Pyongan, Jagang and Ryanggang provinces to build housing on a massive scale and fast.
North Korean media heavily promoted the effort, reporting that “flood-hit areas of North Pyongan, Jagang and Ryanggang provinces have been transformed into ideal socialist villages and worlds of happiness that are the envy of the globe.”
Rushed construction leads to defects
However, with authorities rushing to put up the homes, multiple defects are now appearing, the source said. Many residents have reinstalled chimneys themselves because the original ones didn’t work, and the homes leak when it rains because of poor-quality materials.
The houses look okay from the outside, but cracks have appeared because the materials weaken when they get wet, while the interior walls are easily damaged because of weak cement.
The window glass was made domestically and often breaks in the cold winter, so most people have replaced the glass with plastic sheets.
The people living in the homes are pretty unhappy about the situation.
“The factories that were supposed to supply the glass and cement only cared about quantity, not quality, and the construction commanders only had their eyes on results, ignoring proper ratios and standards, so the homes are worse than warehouses,” the source said. “Families on the upper floors complain that the homes are worse than thatched roof houses because of the cold drafts and rain leaks.”
He added: “Since the authorities pushed the builders to finish the homes quickly by the set deadline when supplies were desperately short, the mobilized workers had no choice but to somehow produce results with whatever supplies they had. With the flaws showing up and residents complaining, some (builders) are worried they’ll face interrogations and punishments.”
