Ryanggang province occupies the mountainous northern interior of North Korea, bordering China’s Jilin Province along the upper Yalu River. Home to Hyesan — Daily NK’s most closely covered city — Ryanggang province is a focal point of our ground-level reporting on border trade, smuggling, market conditions, and the reach of the regime’s enforcement apparatus into remote communities. Despite its geographic isolation, Ryanggang province has long been a hub of informal economic activity and cross-border exchange, making it one of the most important windows into the realities of life in the DPRK.
Tag: Ryanggang province
North Koreans credit rice price stability, but quality and affordability remain...
More than five years after North Korea's state-run grain stores were introduced, North Korean people say the outlets are operating more smoothly than in...
North Korea’s donju hand over rice and cash to the state...
North Korean authorities are pressuring wealthy private traders known as donju — loosely translated as "masters of money," referring to a class of entrepreneurs...
North Korea grain prices fall across markets as imported supply increases
Grain prices at North Korean markets fell across the board in late May 2026, reversing a sustained period of increases, according to Daily NK's...
North Korea grain stores more stable in 2026, but quality complaints...
North Korea's state-run grain stores are operating more reliably than in previous years, but the grain they sell continues to draw complaints about poor...
Chinese smugglers foiled at North Korea border despite hopes for post-Trump...
Chinese smugglers along the Jilin province border with North Korea attempted to move goods across the river on the nights of May 20 and...
North Koreans abandoning market stalls drive surge in Hyesan street trading...
Street vendors in Hyesan are clashing over prime selling spots as growing numbers of North Koreans abandon state market stalls they can no longer...
North Korean women in their 20s now refuse to date men...
Young women in North Korea are increasingly unwilling to date or marry men who lack a stable income or clear earning potential, a sharp...
North Korean market vendors turn to wig and eyelash work to...
Market traders in North Korea are increasingly taking on home-based piecework to supplement their earnings, with vendors in Hyesan turning to wig and eyelash...
North Korean donju convert apartments into duplexes to shelter wealth from...
Wealthy entrepreneurs in North Korea are buying adjacent apartment units and converting them into private duplexes, a trend driven less by lifestyle aspiration than...
North Korean traders race to read the market ahead of summer...
Traders in the North Korean border city of Hyesan are scouring Chinese markets for summer clothing and footwear samples ahead of the import season,...
