 A photo of North Korean vendors doing business in the street taken by a Chinese tourist who visited the country in April. Image: ‘鲍勰等于鳃 blog |
North Korea is seeing the number of street
vendors swell recently on the back of relaxed regulations on market activities
and private sales in general. Areas with higher levels of foot traffic have
especially become popular spots for these makeshift operations, Daily NK has
learned.
“Street stalls, where people can grab a
bite on the go, have been growing rapidly in numbers,” a source in South
Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Wednesday. “In some neighborhoods in the
province, these stalls are lined up outside the market within a 2km radius.”
An additional source in North Pyongan
Province verified these developments.
Most street booths sell simple dishes for
delivery men such as noodles or mock meat rice (rice placed between
soybean-derived strips), and more food stalls that offer bowls of ‘onban’
(seaweed broth with rice) are also popping up at a rapid pace, according to the
source.
“There are more merchants who have less
time to eat properly, so some even offer sweets and crackers instead,” she added. “A lot of times, these vendors will stop by before setting out on
the road and they’ll mass purchase these goods.”
Such activities are not limited to the day
time. Similar to scenes that unfold on the streets of South Korea, some booths
only open shop at night. Stall owners will work other jobs during the day and
sell drinks and food in the evening hours to make money late into the night
hours, said the source.
“These street booths generate their own
electricity, and they make stews and side dishes to sell along with soju (rice
liquor) and beer,” explained the source. “For merchants who have to travel long
distances, it’s a great set-up to enjoy a drink and relax in short period of time.”
These street stalls are not regular stands
set up in the marketplace. In principle, they do not need to pay any fees, but Ministry of People’s Security officials overseeing these areas will regularly ask for ‘rent’
in return for turning a blind eye to their unlicensed operations.
“If you don’t pay them, they come at you
immediately, so the vendors have no choice but to pay,” the source said. “But
recently, I’ve seen a lot of cases, where they fight over the sum required.”
Street stalls are also appearing along the
fringe of markets, where those who cannot afford to pay for a spot within the
market will set up a booth outside of the parameters. With this, street booths
are expanding into neighborhoods and stretching beyond the immediate market
area, according to the source.
The increase of such makeshift operations
is also spreading to areas with high population density such as around train
stations, bus stops, and downtown areas. Sometimes, the booths are even said to
appear in clusters, with 20 to 30 operations setting up shop within residential
areas, acting almost like shopping malls found within large apartment complexes
in the South.
