People in Chongjin and Hoeryong are avoiding the upper floors of newly built high-rise apartments due to various inconveniences, Daily NK has learned.
“The high-rise apartments in Chongjin and Hoeryong were completed this year after several years of construction. Some people have moved in and some are planning to move in,” said a source in North Hamgyong Province on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. “But no one wants to live there since living on the upper floors brings so many problems.”
According to the source, the province began building high-rise apartments in Chongjin five or six years ago on the orders of the central government. But because the apartments have no elevators, residents on the upper floors have a hard time getting up and down. They also lack reliable electricity and water, making them unpopular with locals.
“Apartments built in the past were usually four to five stories high. Because it was difficult to get up and down the fourth and fifth floors, they were in low demand and cheaper than the first and second floors,” the source said. “Now they are higher than 10 floors – nothing has improved. It’s not a surprise they’re so unpopular.”
Since it is already hard enough to make a living and upper-floor residents are forced to physically exert themselves going up and down stairs, there is little chance that demand for upper floor apartments will rise any time soon, he added.
In fact, a home in a high-rise apartment is cheaper than an ordinary one-story house. “A high-rise apartment in Chongjin costs RMB 15,000 to RMB 20,000, while a single-story apartment costs RMB 20,000 to RMB 25,000,” the source said. As of Mar. 28, RMB 1,000 is equal to around USD 138.
Government housing plans are “out-of-sync with reality”
In Hoeryong, local authorities have demolished single-story houses and built new high-rise apartments under government orders. However, as most of the new apartments have no elevators, locals who were allocated apartments in the new high-rises are suffering considerable inconveniences.
“Usually, people who invest in building the apartments are allotted the lower floors, while people who lived in demolished houses are allotted the upper floors,” the source said.
“Since the units on the upper floors suffer from unreliable running water, and going up and down the stairs is difficult because there are no elevators, they are unpopular. So they are mostly allocated to poor, powerless people.”
The source said people living on upper floors suffer considerable inconveniences because they have to carry everything they need to their homes, including water drawn from wells and firewood.
“High-rise apartments simply inconvenience and exhaust people,” the source said. “Some ask why the authorities are building apartments that are completely out of sync with reality. They say they want the government to improve their living conditions quickly, but that’s nothing more than a pipe dream right now.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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