Demand for awnings has skyrocketed among street merchants as heat waves continue in North Korea. However, few street merchants can actually afford to buy them due to their price.
“In Hyesan, many street merchants have looked for or asked about awnings to keep the sun off them this summer,” a Daily NK source in Ryanggang province said recently. “This is because it’s been so hot that doing business on the street is almost impossible unless you’ve got something to screen you.”
In the intense summer sun, North Korean street merchants use an umbrella to screen their merchandise while they stand in the shade, while some use another umbrella to create a sun awning.
Some street merchants even buy awnings to set up, but most can’t afford them and use umbrellas to keep the sun off them, though they barely help.
This year especially, many more street merchants have asked market sellers, shops and smugglers about awnings due to the punishing heat, the source said.
The price of awnings imported from China depends on the size, but before COVID-19, they cost between 250 and 600 Chinese yuan, while now, they go for 400 to 900 yuan—a jump in price of anywhere between 150 and 300 yuan.
Given this, hardly any street merchants—who make little money—can afford an awning. Out of 10 inquiries, perhaps only one will make a purchase.
Young ice cream sellers buy on credit
Meanwhile, many more people are selling ice cream or ice on the street due to the heat this summer. Most of the sellers are young people in their 20s and 30s.
Ice cream and ice sellers need awnings given the nature of their products, and since awnings are a status symbol, young merchants—who are sensitive to how they’re perceived and really hate to be looked down upon—buy awnings on credit.
One person in their 30s, who began selling ice cream on the street in Hyesan this year, said they started in July “after importing an ice cream maker from China through a relative after thinking about it for a while, since people said water-related business would make money.” They added that although selling on the streets made it easy to reach customers, “people mistreat you if you look poor, so I bought an awning on credit and paid back the cost within a month.”
However, many street merchants still make their living without an awning, completely exposed to the sun.
“Street merchants prioritize their goods over themselves, and they endure day-to-day for their families, even if their faces burn black and skin peels off,” the source said. “Demand for sunshades is high, but since people can’t afford them, cheap ones made in North Korea under contract will likely appear soon, and many people will probably buy them, even if they’re not as strong or nice-looking.”
