North Korea is taking special measures to boost the quality of life of residents living in riverside terraced apartments in Kyongru-dong, a neighborhood in Pyongyang’s Jung District, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a reporting partner in Pyongyang told Daily NK on Wednesday that the executive committee of the Pyongyang branch of the Workers’ Party of Korea announced May 12 that Kim Jong Un had approved quality-of-life improvements, including a guaranteed supply of electricity, laundry service, and meal deliveries. The city began rolling out those programs on May 20.
Construction of the Kyongru-dong terraced apartments, which consist of 800 units, was completed in April 2022. The apartments are considered the epitome of luxury, situated in Jung District (which is already regarded as an affluent part of Pyongyang) between the banks of the Potong River and a street running between the headquarters of the Central Party Committee and Mansudae Street.
The quality-of-life improvements appear to have been ordered because most of the residents of these apartments are people who have made a major contribution to the development of the state or who have personally met Kim Jong Un, his father or his grandfather.
The Pyongyang Party Committee said it would guarantee 18 hours of electricity for the housing units adjacent to the street and a gradually decreasing amount for other units. Because electricity is not available around the clock in North Korea, people regard it as something of a privilege for the government to guarantee electricity.
Pyongyang is also working on an arrangement for laundromats in Jung District to pick up and return laundry from residents of Kyongru-dong two or three times a week. The city has also organized a food delivery service by which meal providers in the district send carts to the apartments at 4-5 AM and 6-8 PM to sell rice, side dishes and soup.
Given the lack of laundromats and food providers in Kyongru-dong, which was only developed last year, Jung District has essentially taken it upon itself to organize laundry and food delivery services for the convenience of apartment residents, the reporting partner explained.
“Needless to say, there has been a positive response [from residents of the Kyongru-dong apartments], and office workers among the residents are particularly pleased. But since Jung District laundromats have to pick up laundry in Kyongru-dong before other neighborhoods, people are talking about how even Jung District is being divided into ‘center’ and ‘provincial’ areas,” the reporting partner said.
Workers at Jung District laundromats and food providers that are part of the quality-of-life improvement program in Kyongru-dong are being monitored by security guards to ensure they only access the apartments at the times prescribed by the Pyongyang People’s Committee. This suggests that the Kyongru-dong apartments have a security system to match its high-end luxury.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea and China. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
