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
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,...
Rising prices push North Korea housing costs out of reach for...
Housing costs across North Korea have surged two to four times their pre-pandemic levels, squeezing young couples out of the property market and prompting...
North Korea’s market price surge shows signs of easing
North Korean market prices, which had nearly doubled since early February 2026, showed signs of easing in late April, according to Daily NK's latest...
North Korean soldiers beat taxi driver who refused free ride in...
Two soldiers beat a taxi driver bloody in Hyesan, Ryanggang province, after he refused to give them a free ride, according to a Daily...
North Korea’s farm labor exemptions for top students spark fairness row
A Ryanggang province party committee directive exempting top-scoring students from seasonal farm labor mobilization has ignited a fairness dispute among parents, with many arguing...
