Though political and security concerns still dominate discussion of North Korea, especially in English, moves to diversify the narrative continue to gain ground. In another example of a slowly burgeoning trend, a panel made up of three ordinary North Korean
women spoke at a seminar on Saturday in Seoul entitled, “North
Korean Women Today: Don’t Ask My Name.”
However, it was former Daily NK columnist Prof. Andrei Lankov who began the Freedom Factory-sponsored event, offering an explanation of the importance of women in North Korea today. When the national economy began to collapse in the mid-1990s, he noted, the official jobs of most men became redundant as factories lay
idle. Thus, a unique situation came to
pass, where men were tied to unproductive labor while most women had more time and relative freedom. This is how women first emerged as the drivers of growth in North Korea’s embryonic market system, stepping up to take on the the
role of family breadwinners.
This new role has not resulted in
equality, however. While overwhelmingly staffed by women, North Korean free market activities are run at the top by an “old boys network” of Party cadres and the security
forces, which leads to a situation wherein males dominate most high-profit, riskier businesses whilst women
are at the forefront of simpler, safer businesses, but ones that carry slimmer profit margins.
Nevertheless, Lankov went on, women have
taken good advantage of the discrimination that prevails in North Korean society, and, although still small-scale, female-led capitalism has taken a noticeable hold. As such, he noted, an ideal marriage in the North today might match a Party official with the daughter of a family of successful market operators.
Following this introduction, North Korean refugee Lee Mi Yeon talked about the issue of North Korea’s endemic corruption. The importance of money cannot be overstated, she said. Under-resourced North Korean soldiers are “always
hungry,” and are thus susceptible to bribes. A bribe of $500 got her across the Tumen River into China, she recalled. Paying too
little would have resulted in her being handed over to police, or sold
into prostitution or marriage to a Chinese man.
When living in the North Lee’s
wage was just 1700 North Korean Won per month, leaving her no choice but to engage in market activities outside the confines of the
state. It was by producing counterfeit international brand cigarettes and selling them as the real thing that she earned enough to make her escape.
The next North Korean speaker, Park Yeon Mi, had a different
story to tell. She was born into an elite family in Hyesan. Her father, a Party member, moved to Pyongyang
for work and took her with him. Once there she discovered that the people of the North Korean capital knew little about the rest of the country, lending weight to talk of deep regional divides. After her father was caught selling items to
China he was imprisoned, and Park’s dreams of studying to become a doctor were
dashed in an instant.
Meanwhile, market activity had proliferated
back in Hyesan and foreign media was readily available. Similarly, a growing
number of young people had begun to lose loyalty to the regime, and worship of
the Kim family faded into the background. The younger generation no longer had a leader they looked up to; Kim Il Sung was not relevant to them, and Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Eun never filled his shoes. The younger generation’s focus soon shifted to outside influences.
Park began her presentation with images
of movies including Titanic, Pretty Woman, and the Bond film GoldenEye. These were today’s places of
worship for young North Koreans, she said. Her own
father had told her at age seven that she should not believe the stories of
the Kim family. Instead, he suggested, if “you know how to count money then
that will be enough.”
Unfortunately, arrival in South Korea does not represent the end of life’s difficulties for anyone, much less North Koreans, who are subject to specific forms of discrimination. “The majority of South Koreans are bad. The
majority are not nice,” Park claimed controversially, describing five things that North
Koreans find hard in their new lives: South Korean stereotypes of North Korea; discrimination; not being treated as equals; the struggle for identity; and
grappling with the concept of freedom.
Common questions she fields from South
Koreans include: “Have you ever eaten human flesh?” “Are you brainwashed?” “Why did you
come here?” and “Are you a spy?” One time, she
recalled, she was denied entry to an internet cafe. After asking how to use the computer, the owner had told her, “We don’t accept foreigners here.” This experience would be bad enough if Park had actually been foreign, but the owner continued
to repeat his call for her to leave even as she showed him documents proving her
South Korean citizenship.
The final speaker, Lee So Yeon described her
life in North Korea working in a public distribution office affiliated with the People’s
Army. The situation remains dire for
soldiers in the North, she reaffirmed. Each soldier is
meant to receive 800g of grain per day; however, as Lee testified, her
superiors took a portion of the ration for themselves, meaning only around 300 grams
was left over for the servicemen and women. This, she said, highlights two realities; the overall lack of food in the North and, once again, rampant corruption among the political elite.
According to Lee, the military is
currently ravaged by starvation and instances of TB. Soldiers have turned to
stealing food, which has undermined their reputation in the eyes of the citizenry.
Female soldiers fall subject to sexual assault from senior officials, and cannot turn to anyone for help. Conversely, they fear censure if they confront their
attacker.
Tellingly, the North Korean women who
shared their stories on Saturday remain convinced that their young compatriots inside North Korea can see through the facade
of worship of the Kim family cult of personality. Despite the best efforts of the state, many people do not believe everything they are told.
