A handful of North Korean athletes are set to participate in the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympics in South Korea, leading many to wonder what life is like for the physically disabled in North Korea.
“Until now, North Korea has not been invited to the Paralympics and there has not been any dialogue regarding the disabled, so it’s a relatively positive step,” said Signe Poulsen from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Seoul. Others, however, have pointed out that the regime is simply using its Paralympians for propaganda purposes.
A North Korean defector familiar with conditions for the disabled in North Korea met with Daily NK to explain the actual state of affairs, saying, “Anyone needed for propaganda purposes is carefully selected.” But the true situation for most disabled people in North Korea is dire. Even university entrance exams involve a physical examination that excludes the handicapped.
“These disabled people are being used for propaganda purposes. That’s all,” the defector explained, speaking with Daily NK on condition of anonymity.
Following is the transcript from the interview.
DNK: Can you tell us what sort of social welfare benefits are available to the disabled in North Korea?
In North Korea, there isn’t even the concept of welfare for the disabled. There is no word to even refer to this type of empowerment policy. Those who become physically handicapped during their military service are given a “Glorious Military Service Certificate.” Those who are injured while working for a state factory get similar recognition. They are given compensation by the state on a monthly basis. The amount of compensation is dependent on the extent of the injury.
In 1990, I was working at a state factory when I lost three fingers in an industrial accident. I was assigned a level three disability ranking and given 10 KPW per month. At the time, this was enough to buy rice at the national currency rate. Rice cost about 48 jeon (about half of 1 KPW) per kilogram back then. But the national currency rate has been little more than a superficial facade ever since the 1980s. The actual rate is much different. At the black market rate – the one that really mattered – corn was selling for about 8 KPW per kilogram and rice was selling for 16 KPW per kilogram. So that means I didn’t even get enough money to buy one kilogram of rice per month.
DNK: Did the compensation increase over time?
According to the July Economic Measures of 2002, state salaries increased and so did disability compensation. It went from 10 KPW to 200 KPW, but rice prices also rose, so the national welfare was still of no real help. The price of one kilogram of rice at that point was 1000 KPW.
DNK: How did you manage to get by?
I was born into a family with poor songbun [North Korea’s social ranking system categorizing the entire population by loyalty and family history]. We couldn’t even dream about becoming members of the Worker’s Party. I had to work much harder than everyone else at the equipment factory to demonstrate my loyalty to the party and the leader. I suddenly became disabled due to an accident. At that point, there was no chance whatsoever that I could enter the Party. The only role left was to be a guard at the factory. I lost a lot and felt distressed about it.
I thought about ways to make a comeback. Even though I was disabled, I still wanted to be somebody and rise to a dignified position. I wanted to become an accountant, so I applied to enter a two-year specialty economics university. I passed the written test, but failed the physical examination. I was in my twenties in the prime of my life, but I was categorized as disabled and barred from university. I cried in despair. At that point, the factory’s accountant approached me. He came from Kaesong and also had poor songbun.
He taught me accounting every night in his home. I lived this way for several years, working during the day and then studying at night. Even though disabled people couldn’t attend daytime university classes, I held out hope that I’d be able to attend night school. Years later, it finally came to fruition.
DNK: Did life improve after that point?
I worked as hard as I could, sweating blood, and managed to graduate from school. My limitations were clear. Disabled people could become managers at light labor workplaces, but my low songbun remained a problem. Handicapped people with money were appointed to become administrative cadres. But this wasn’t possible for me. If I left my fate up to the state, my life would have been hopeless.
Earning money through my own hard work was the most rewarding experience. Although we disabled citizens did not receive special benefits from the state, we were still required to contribute loyalty funds. I had to contribute 30 kilograms of honey every year to my factory. I also had to give honey to the factory’s party secretary. These payments were required in order to be excluded from elements of organizational life (compulsory activities directed by the government organs and affiliated groups). Even though I wasn’t getting any special treatment, I was comfortable because I was able to work hard and earn my own money.
DNK: How does it make you feel watching disabled North Korean athletes participate in the PyeongChang Paralympics?
I was a bookkeeper at a psychiatric hospital in North Hamgyong Province. Our section chief organized group performances to be performed by patients with less serious ailments. Having the patients sing and put on a show in this way was also good for their treatment. They were taught to sing songs that praised the leader and then did rounds of performances.
We did some of these propaganda performances at the local military bases and farms and were given high praise. The people who saw our performances thought that it was due to Kim Jong Un’s policies and that the government was doing such a good job looking after us. But the people selected for the public propaganda performances are always those without severe physical handicaps. The severely disabled aren’t even considered.
They say that there are a lot of people going around Pyongyang in wheelchairs these days. But that’s impossible to see in the rural regions. Seeing the athletes being mobilized to support Kim Jong Un’s propaganda effort is a pitiful sight.
