As North Korea continues active efforts to repatriate its workers in China, laborers remaining in the country are still mired in horrible conditions, including being served terrible meals and working long hours.
A Daily NK source in China recently revealed that workers at one clothing factory in Liaoning Province were served almost identical soups and side dishes for all three meals over the course of one workday earlier this month.
Workers at the factory typically eat breakfast at 6:30 AM, immediately after arriving at work from their dormitories. The breakfast that day was nothing more than white rice, bean paste soup with cabbage, kimchi, radish, and pickled chili peppers.
Daily NK’s source said all the factory’s meals include rice, soup and kimchi, with pickles served as a side dish, though the ingredients of the pickles differ from meal to meal.
Breakfast hours are 6:30 AM to 7:30 AM, but most workers finish their meals within 15 minutes and immediately begin work.
Lunch begins at 11:30 AM. That day, the lunch menu was the same as breakfast. The workers relaxed until 12:30 PM, when the lunch hour ends.
On that day, the workers finished their lunch and gathered in small groups to chat, or they got some fresh air in front of the factory, the source said.
From 12:30 PM, the afternoon shift continued for five straight hours, with no snacks provided to the workers, he added.
Dinner time begins at 5:30 PM, and the dinner meal that day was the same as breakfast and lunch, with the solitary addition of stir-fried vegetables.
In short, the workers were served what was essentially the same food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the source said.
“They [factories] often serve the same side dishes for all three meals. You can count on one hand how many times meat is served, maybe once or twice a month. The workers are usually served duck when they have to continuously work overtime.”
The workers are served duck because it is the cheapest meat available. In China, a single smoked duck costs RMB 12-15, or around USD 2.
Pork, which is more expensive than duck, is served only on national holidays like the Day of the Sun, which marks the birth of North Korea’s late founder Kim Il Sung on Apr. 15, or the Day of the Foundation of the Republic on Sept. 9.
Repatriations will proceed gradually
North Korea recently restarted plane, train and bus service with China as part of efforts to repatriate its workers. The repatriations have led to an uneasy atmosphere among the workers as they wait for their turn to return home.
In fact, Chinese companies and North Korean managers are allowing laborers to go out to buy things in large stores and shopping malls, the source told Daily NK.
“Chinese companies take losses if the workers take even a single day off, so the repatriation of existing workers to North Korea and the entry of new workers into China will proceed gradually.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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