Tag: pyongsong
Soaring prices squeeze North Korea’s vulnerable households
Rising food prices and exchange rates in North Korea are sharply eroding the purchasing power of vulnerable households. Prices have climbed sharply, but incomes...
Guilt over watching K-drama leads to arrest in Pyongsong
North Korean authorities arrested two young men in Pyongsong, South Pyongan province, in 2026. Their crime was watching K-drama, the South Korean dramas widely...
Kim family fashion drives custom tailoring boom among North Korea’s wealthy...
Wealthy North Koreans are commissioning custom-tailored suits modeled on the outfits worn by Ri Sol Ju and Kim Ju Ae at official state appearances...
North Korea’s pet boom puts new spotlight on wealth gap
A growing number of North Korean people are keeping pets, fueling rising sales of specialized dog food, clothing and other supplies in 2026. Pet...
Shorter shifts, stricter controls for North Korean women mobilized to farms
Members of North Korea's official women's organization are working four-hour shifts in the country's 2026 weeding campaign, but authorities now demand written proof that...
Pyongsong crackdown leaves shelves bare as North Korea pushes state commerce...
North Korea's crackdown on private markets is intensifying as the regime designates March a "month of commercial revolution," triggering sharp price spikes and supply...
North Korea’s war on superstition backfires as fortune-telling goes underground
Despite the North Korean authorities' intensified crackdown on superstitious practices, the fortune-telling market is spreading in ever more covert forms. Rather than suppressing demand,...
Holiday dining boom exposes North Korea’s widening wealth gap
North Koreans dined out in record numbers during the Kim Jong Il birthday holiday (Feb. 16) and Lunar New Year (Feb. 17), as restaurants...
Protein deficiency causes muscle atrophy and hair loss among North Korean...
Spreading malnutrition among children is becoming a major social issue in North Korea, with three orphans at a school in Pyongsong recently dying after...
North Korea launches market crackdown as Chinese imports surge
With imports rising following the recent expansion of trade between North Korea and China, North Korean authorities have launched a crackdown on the illegal...
