{"id":324126,"date":"2026-04-15T22:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=324126"},"modified":"2026-04-15T13:53:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T04:53:03","slug":"north-korea-cooking-oil-distribution-kim-il-sung-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-cooking-oil-distribution-kim-il-sung-birthday\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea cooking oil distribution falls flat as prices exceed reach of poor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_324140\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-324140\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/origin_\ubd81\ud55c\uae40\uc77c\uc131\ud0c4\uc0dd114\uc8fc\ub144\uacbd\ucd95\u2026\ud0dc\uc591\uc808\uc5b8\uae09\uc740\uc790\uc81c-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-324140\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/origin_\ubd81\ud55c\uae40\uc77c\uc131\ud0c4\uc0dd114\uc8fc\ub144\uacbd\ucd95\u2026\ud0dc\uc591\uc808\uc5b8\uae09\uc740\uc790\uc81c-1.jpg\" alt=\"Decorative public installation in North Korea marking the 114th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung, April 15\" width=\"1000\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/origin_\ubd81\ud55c\uae40\uc77c\uc131\ud0c4\uc0dd114\uc8fc\ub144\uacbd\ucd95\u2026\ud0dc\uc591\uc808\uc5b8\uae09\uc740\uc790\uc81c-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/origin_\ubd81\ud55c\uae40\uc77c\uc131\ud0c4\uc0dd114\uc8fc\ub144\uacbd\ucd95\u2026\ud0dc\uc591\uc808\uc5b8\uae09\uc740\uc790\uc81c-1-300x189.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/origin_\ubd81\ud55c\uae40\uc77c\uc131\ud0c4\uc0dd114\uc8fc\ub144\uacbd\ucd95\u2026\ud0dc\uc591\uc808\uc5b8\uae09\uc740\uc790\uc81c-1-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/origin_\ubd81\ud55c\uae40\uc77c\uc131\ud0c4\uc0dd114\uc8fc\ub144\uacbd\ucd95\u2026\ud0dc\uc591\uc808\uc5b8\uae09\uc740\uc790\uc81c-1-667x420.jpg 667w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/origin_\ubd81\ud55c\uae40\uc77c\uc131\ud0c4\uc0dd114\uc8fc\ub144\uacbd\ucd95\u2026\ud0dc\uc591\uc808\uc5b8\uae09\uc740\uc790\uc81c-1-696x438.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-324140\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A public installation marking the 114th birth anniversary of North Korea founder Kim Il Sung is displayed ahead of the April 15 holiday. \/Photo: Rodong Sinmun\/News1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">North Korea distributed cooking oil ration vouchers to mark the April 15 birthday of founder Kim Il Sung in 2026, but the state-set price proved too high for many low-income North Korean people to afford.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">A source in Kanggye, Jagang province, told Daily NK on Wednesday that one kilogram of cooking oil was made available per household at state-run food stores through ration vouchers distributed via neighborhood watch units, the grassroots surveillance and administrative cells that manage daily life at the street level across North Korea. The state-set price was approximately 30,000 North Korean won per kilogram, roughly half the going market rate of over 80,000 North Korean won, yet many households still declined to buy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">&#8220;The price of 30,000 won is about the same as rice,&#8221; the source said. &#8220;Most people said they would rather buy rice than cooking oil.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>North Korea&#8217;s holiday distribution system under strain<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">The North Korean government has long distributed food and goods to mark major political anniversaries, including the birthdays of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. In past years, these distributions sometimes included a bottle of liquor, 10 eggs, or a bottle of cooking oil at little or no cost to recipients. This year, advance word that cooking oil would be distributed generated considerable anticipation among North Korean people. The reality, however, fell short.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Beyond the pricing problem, the source said that cooking oil has increasingly become a luxury item for lower-income households amid the country&#8217;s prolonged economic hardships. Many families use cooking oil only on special occasions such as holidays or birthdays, forgoing it entirely in day-to-day cooking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">&#8220;In the past, when cooking oil or candy came out for a holiday, people were happy because it felt like a real holiday,&#8221; the source said. &#8220;Now, even when receiving holiday distributions, people can&#8217;t be straightforwardly happy. Many say, &#8216;So even the things the state gives us have become this expensive.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Those living hand to mouth found the 30,000-won price simply out of reach, the source said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Some North Korean people who received vouchers sold them on to others rather than using them to buy oil. Wealthier individuals purchased discarded vouchers, bought the oil at the state price, and resold it in <em>jangmadang<\/em> markets, the informal markets that have become the primary distribution channel for consumer goods in North Korea, at a markup.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">&#8220;In the end, people with money used this holiday distribution as an opportunity to earn even more, while those without money couldn&#8217;t even think about buying the oil,&#8221; the source said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/20260415-1\/\">Read in Korean<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<!-- Daily NK \u2014 A Note to Readers \u2014 End of Article Pattern -->\n<div style=\"background:#1a1a1a;border-top:3px solid #cc0000;padding:0;margin-top:32px;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;\">\n  <div style=\"padding:20px 24px 24px;\">\n\n    <!-- Header row -->\n    <div style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:12px;margin-bottom:14px;\">\n      <span style=\"background:#cc0000;color:#fff;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:9px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.15em;text-transform:uppercase;padding:3px 8px;flex-shrink:0;\">A Note to Readers<\/span>\n      <div style=\"flex:1;height:1px;background:#333;\"><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <!-- Intro line -->\n    <p style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:15px;color:#fff;font-weight:normal;line-height:1.4;margin:0 0 12px;\">Reporting from inside North Korea<\/p>\n\n    <!-- Body -->\n    <p style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:13px;color:#bbb;line-height:1.75;margin:0 0 16px;\">\n      Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information through secure channels. 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A source in Kanggye, Jagang province, told Daily NK on Wednesday that one kilogram of cooking oil was made [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":259,"featured_media":324140,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,645,1360],"tags":[1857,2611,100,710,714,731,750,767],"class_list":["post-324126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-economy","category-society","tag-non-tax-burdens","tag-jangmadang","tag-markets","tag-food-shortages","tag-economy","tag-jagang-province","tag-kim-il-sung","tag-food"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>North Korea cooking oil ration too costly for poor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"North Korea 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