Public sentiment in regions of Jagang province struck by flooding in late July is plummeting with the authorities failing to provide full support to affected residents, Daily NK has learned.
According to multiple Daily NK sources in Jagang province recently, displaced residents in Songgan county, Chonchon county, Changgang county and elsewhere have been unable to return to their homes despite three months passing since the floods.
Not only is the terrain in Songgan county, Chonchon county and Changgang county rugged, but many streams converge as they come down from the mountains, so many landslides occurred due to the heavy summer rains. Accordingly, munition factories and many homes suffered severe damage from being buried or flooded.
When people were displaced, local people’s committees surveyed local residents who could provide rooms or storage spaces to house the victims, directly connecting them with people in need. However, the flood victims have been freeloading in other people’s homes for three straight months, the sources said.
House construction is underway in the flood zones. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Jagang province’s flood recovery zone for the first time on Oct. 21 and announced that “a decision would be made to extend housing construction in the disaster zone that was supposed to be finished by early November to early December.”
Should Kim’s order be carried out, the displaced families will be able to move into new homes in early December, but victims complain that their circumstances “won’t get better just because we move into new homes that are just shells.”
Moreover, people who lost their livelihoods in the floods complain of despair and hopelessness.
One of the sources said that “flood waters carried away the ‘five closets and six appliances’ (the clothes closet, blanket closet, cupboard, television, refrigerator and other home appliances) in many homes.” He said many people still despair that “it took 20 years to acquire those five closets and six appliances, so 20 years of my life disappeared.”
During North Korea’s autumn kimchi-making season, many displaced families face mounting frustration. While kimchi is so vital to local diets that North Koreans call it “food for half a year,” these families find themselves unable to prepare their own supply. Even when they assist others with kimchi preparation in their temporary homes, they cannot make batches for themselves due to their displaced status. This situation is particularly difficult in North Korea, where food scarcity makes the preservation of kimchi especially crucial for survival through the year.
Meanwhile, Jagang province’s party committee carried out three straight months of public fundraising for flood recovery from August to October, sparking widespread complaints.
According to another source in Jagang province, the provincial party committee in early October ordered households to pay 10,000 North Korean won each for flood recovery costs through their neighborhood watch units.
“For 10,000 won, you could buy 1.5 kilograms of rice,” the source said. “People eat rice sparingly since they can’t even afford a grain, so paying 10,000 won is very hard.”
Displaced families are not being asked to pay for flood recovery costs, but with families that opened their homes to the displaced being ordered to pay, flood victims now find themselves in an awkward position where they must walk on eggshells around their hosts.
Jagang province residents also complain that their region received less state support than North Pyongan province, which was also hit by floods.
“No rescue helicopters came when floods hit Jagang province,” the source said. “People accept that helicopters couldn’t fly here because of power lines near the weapons factories. But residents are angry that they had to handle everything themselves, with almost no help or supplies from the government after the flooding.”
Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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