In the runup to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s birthday on Jan. 8, the country’s government handed out gifts of sweets to infants and children at nursery and elementary schools, a source in the country told Daily NK recently.
Having been convinced of the country’s passage through a severe economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Korean government appears to have distributed the gifts of sweets to highlight Kim’s “love of children.”
On Jan. 6, a Daily NK source in Yanggang Province reported that “starting on Jan. 5, Hyesan began distributing gifts to commemorate the birthday of the leader [Kim Jong Un]. This was different from past years, and households with children were very happy to receive the gifts of sweets.”
Every year, North Korean authorities have handed out gifts of sweets to children to commemorate the birthdays of Kim and his predecessors. Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il’s birthdays are designated as national holidays; however, Kim Jong Un’s birthday has not been officially designated a national holiday despite holding power for the past ten years. That being said, just like the national holidays of his other predecessors, Kim Jong Un has provided gifts of sweets to children.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese brands of sweets circulated in the country’s markets. At the time, North Koreans compared Chinese-made sweets with the inferior ones made domestically, criticizing the difference in quality. After the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the quality of North Korean sweets worsened even more, leading to further discontent among consumers.
According to the source, families are happy about receiving the items this year.
“Nowadays, every household is suffering from immense levels of poverty, and parents are feeling unhappy about being unable to feed their children enough and lacking enough money to buy their children snacks,” said the source. “Now that we’ve entered the [school] vacation period, kids are staying home all day wailing for something to eat to fill their bellies and parents are having a tough time dealing with that.”
Amid this situation, parents have all eagerly been awaiting the possibility of their children receiving gifts of sweets for Kim Jong Un’s birthday. Now, as the government has begun handing out the gifts, they are breathing sighs of relief.
In the past, people turned a cold shoulder to gifts of candy because of their poor quality; now, as they are confronting extreme levels of poverty, North Koreans are welcoming the handouts.
“In the past, North Koreans expressed dissatisfaction toward the gifts because of their quantity and quality, but these days it’s so hard to feed one’s family that everyone is saying, ‘We’re so grateful just to receive [the candy],’” the source said. “People agree that while the latest handout of gifts are the same ones handed out as in the past, the feeling [of receiving them] is different [now].”
Translated by Robert Lauler.
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