Students in Ryanggang province have been mobilized for this year’s potato harvest, facing unprecedented financial burdens due to severe inflation.
According to a Daily NK source in Ryanggang province recently, authorities issued their usual mobilization order for the potato harvest, with Hyesan schools assigned to farms and students deployed to fields from Sept. 11 to 13.
In Ryanggang province, students are routinely mobilized during the annual potato harvest season from Sept. 10 to Oct. 10. Each school is assigned a farm, with classes divided into teams working individual fields on harvesting and transportation tasks.
Students receive no proper food or side dishes during the work period and must prepare their own provisions.
“Authorities tell them to survive on what farms provide, but they can’t live on potatoes alone for a month,” the source said. Students coordinate among themselves to share costs for rice, seasonings and soup ingredients, or pool money for collective purchases.
Classes also rent vehicles for transport from school to farm, with students covering gas costs. This creates a situation where mobilized students spend their own money while working rather than receiving compensation.
Financial strain on families
All mobilization costs were passed to students again this year. Due to severe inflation, individual food and seasoning quotas decreased while burdens remained the same, the source said.
One Hyesan high school class required each student to provide 50,000 North Korean won for five kilograms each of rice and corn, cooking oil, seasonings, artificial meat and gasoline.
Another class demanded 180,000 won per student. To ensure equal food quality and quantity, the class decided to pool money for collective purchases.
The burden falls on parents, with some complaining about barely scraping by daily while being expected to cover these costs without provincial assistance.
Parents express frustration that authorities issue orders while dumping responsibility on students. Since these tasks become competitions, families unable to pay on time face shame and loss of face. Many parents feel sorry for their children in this situation.
During last year’s mobilization, many students couldn’t afford preparations, prompting schools to send students door-to-door collecting needed items from classmates’ families. Similar situations likely occurred this year as well.
