While the summer harvest brings relief from wondering where the next meal will come from, many North Koreans have grown tired of eating mostly potatoes.
A source in South Pyongan province told Daily NK recently that wheat and barley harvests are nearly finished, and potato harvesting is now underway on farms across the province.
North Korea’s potato harvest brings much-needed relief every June. With food shortages common in rural areas, many people feel lucky just to have potatoes to eat. But there’s also growing frustration with potatoes showing up in nearly every meal.
“Often, you’ll see potatoes in all three meals of the day – rice with potatoes, potato soup, and potatoes as a side dish. Kids get sick of potatoes, and adults want to complain too, though they usually just eat them anyway since they know they shouldn’t grumble about having food at all,” the source said.
“It’s mostly potatoes at my house too. Even the snacks given to people working in the fields are usually steamed potatoes, so farmers joke about getting gassy from eating so many potatoes. That’s their polite way of showing they’re fed up. Some people try to cheer others up by saying potatoes are better than going hungry.”
Meanwhile, most of this year’s wheat and barley harvest has been collected by authorities and sent to food processing facilities at both local and national levels.
Some farms do share part of their crops with local residents. In the village of Komsan in Sukchon county, South Pyongan province, each person reportedly received 20 kilograms of mixed wheat and barley.
People grind up the grain and mix it with potatoes to stretch their food supply. Most rural families have to survive on wheat, barley and potatoes until the corn harvest comes in, the source explained.
“We cycle through different main foods throughout the year. People still have to eat whatever crop is available, just like they did long ago. Life in the countryside is still a real struggle,” the source said.
