It’s time for another episode of the weekly series Market Trends, where we look at the latest developments in North Korea’s economy. North Korea is cooling down these days, and people can be seen heading off to work wearing a scarf and a light jacket. The change in weather naturally leads to questions about what North Koreans are doing to prepare for the impending winter season. We now turn to special correspondent Kang Mi Jin to find out.
It’s important to remember that North Korea is quite a bit colder than South Korea, and with less modern conveniences available to ordinary people – so winter preparations tend to begin early there. One particular problem is the wild swings in temperature between night and day, which is why people bring a jacket and scarf when they go out these days. As a result of this shift in attention towards winter preparation, market trends have also undergone some changes.
Can you tell us how people in North Korea approach this pre-winter time period?
For ordinary North Koreans, winter preparation is a matter of survival. After the harvest, all eyes turn towards winter prep tasks. There are many important tasks that residents must complete, but I’ll start by naming some of the most essential: procuring firewood, buying warm clothing, making kimchi, and weatherproofing the house. The market is sensitive to increases in demand that reflect the weather patterns. So wholesalers are purchasing items that are in demand and hoping to sell for a profit.
I’ll offer a few examples to lend some context. Around the middle of October, people start making kimchi in large amounts so they can have a staple to eat through the winter months. Accordingly, wholesalers are procuring seasonings and other necessary ingredients for making kimchi. These wholesalers are also buying up different varieties of wood and displaying the lumber outside the markets to sell as firewood.
I was under the impression that after the residents reaped the harvest, they would get a much needed rest. But it seems that is mistaken. This is the beginning of a different kind of hardship for them.
Yes, I think that is fair to say. Before the residents buy winter clothes and firewood, they will work on house restorations and improvements. This kind of work isn’t necessary for most city dwellers who live in apartments, but for residents in suburban and rural areas, it’s a crucial task. Home weatherproofing techniques vary from region to region depending on the availability of materials. For example, when I was living in Ryanggang Province, cement was in short supply, so most houses there were constructed with wooden columns. The walls were made with clay and sawdust, or simply constructed entirely out of wood to form a kind of log cabin.
Materials and products related to housing repairs and waterproofing tend to become more expensive during this period. Vendors engage in price fixing, which was once regulated to some extent by the authorities, but is now largely tolerated for materials like wood and plastic sheeting. North Koreans use the plastic sheeting to cover up windows and block the chilly winter winds. It also comes in handy for making kimchi. Each family usually buys about 5-10 square meters of plastic sheeting, a dramatic surge in demand that causes the prices to climb.
Can you tell us a little more about how the atmosphere of the marketplaces has changed?
Consumers are starting to seek out hot foods and snacks. In the summer time, merchants sell cold noodles called naengmyeon. But in the fall and winter, these vendors switch to a warm noodle dish with dried seaweed (kim) sprinkled on top. Also, tofu in cold broth is a hot ticket item in summer, but merchants switch to warm broth when the weather cools down. Merchants also place rice cakes (tteok) and bread on top of heated charcoals so they can sell them to customers when they are nice and toasty. During lunch time, people descend on the marketplace to have hot soup. Most merchants in the marketplace usually bring a lunch box, but more and more are beginning to purchase tofu soup or dried radish greens in hot broth from other vendors instead of bringing their own food.
Can we also see any change to the price of coal or firewood around this time of year?
Normally, firewood isn’t subject to a dramatic price change. When firewood is sold in smaller batches, the operations are smaller in scale so we do see some diversity in pricing depending on the local conditions. Also, when it’s sold in larger quantities, there is a slight difference in the price. One cubic meter of firewood is usually sold for 154,000 KPW in the spring. We would expect the price to increase when demand goes up in the fall, but actually the price has fallen to 127,000 KPW. This is a tremendous help to most North Koreans, for whom every penny counts. The newly reduced price allows them to spend more on other necessities.
We’ll close with a rundown of the jangmadang prices.
One kilogram of rice cost KPW 5,800 in Pyongyang, KPW 5,500 in Sinuiju, and KPW 6,010 in Hyesan. One kilogram of corn kernels cost KPW 1,100 in Pyongyang, KPW 1,190 in Hyesan and KPW 1120 Sinuiju.
One dollar was trading at KPW 8,150 in Pyongyang, KPW 8,100 in Sinuiju, and KPW 8,160 in Hyesan. One yuan was trading at KPW 1,200 in Pyongyang, KPW 1,170 in Sinuiju, and 1,200 in Hyesan.
One kilogram of pork sold at KPW 11,000 in Pyongyang, KPW 10,600 in Sinuiju, and KPW 10,500 in Hyesan. One kilogram of gasoline sold for KPW 7,500 in Pyongyang, KPW 7,750 in Sinuiju, and KPW 7,800 in Hyesan. One kilogram of diesel sold for KPW 6,000 in Pyongyang, KPW 6,150 in Sinuiju, and KPW 6,100 in Hyesan.
*Prices updated as of October 13.
