Tag: jangmadang
Grain stores scramble the math on North Korea’s rice prices
For decades, the price of a kilogram of rice at the market has served as the single most important gauge of North Korea’s economy....
Listening to how North Koreans talk
A film I watched recently added Korean subtitles to a conversation between North Korean characters, as though they were speaking a foreign language. Eight...
Empty-handed farmers drive up rice prices
Farm workers in South Hwanghae province are flooding local markets to buy rice in November 2026, with tighter state grain procurement leaving them with...
Elite unit’s villa repairs spill into local markets
High-end building materials and fixtures torn out of Kim family villas and state guesthouses are turning up in North Korean markets in 2026. Many...
Trader loses all her medicine after defying police
A Chongjin medicine trader lost her entire stock in October 2026 after refusing a police officer’s demand for free drugs, winning back her goods...
Secret abortion pills leave Kaechon schoolgirl bleeding in the street
A teenage girl in Kaechon, South Pyongan province, collapsed in the street in early October 2026 after taking abortion pills. She had secretly bought...
Farm workers balk as Pyongyang pushes electronic payment cards
North Korean authorities are pressing South Pyongan province farm workers to load their savings onto electronic payment cards, saying the cashless shift will prevent...
How Kim Jong Un’s state is taming trade outside North Korea’s...
Where do North Koreans buy their food and daily necessities in 2026? Most still go to the general markets that have anchored the country’s...
Women’s union crackdown targets home tailoring workshop in Hyesan
A women's union crackdown in the North Korean border city of Hyesan has targeted a home-based tailoring workshop this September, with officials publicly criticizing...
North Korea’s market rice prices fall as yuan exchange rate plunges
Rice prices in North Korea's informal markets, known as jangmadang, continued falling in September 2026 after a stretch of national holidays boosted grain supplies...
