{"id":36177,"date":"2018-06-01T17:31:04","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T08:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.dailynk.com\/en\/?p=36177"},"modified":"2020-01-17T08:28:48","modified_gmt":"2020-01-16T23:28:48","slug":"the-realities-of-north-koreas-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/the-realities-of-north-koreas-free\/","title":{"rendered":"The realities of North Korea\u2019s free universal healthcare system"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Along with the country\u2019s free education system, North Korea\u2019s \u201cFree Universal Health Care System\u201d is touted as being the ideal \u201cpublic health policy for the people\u201d that provides medical services to the entire population on the state\u2019s dime.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>North Korea implemented its free universal healthcare system for laborers, farmers, office workers and their families from 1947 in accordance with the National Social Insurance Law. The country adopted a Cabinet decision entitled, \u201cIn Regards to the Implementation of the Free Universal Healthcare System\u201d during the Korean War on November 13, 1952, and expanded those eligible under the system from workers and farmers to the entire population.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>At the time, North Korea had established some hospitals and clinics with the support of the Soviet Union, China, and Eastern Bloc countries and was importing medical devices and medicines to supply these facilities. North Korea declared the full implementation of the \u201cFree Universal Healthcare System\u201d on January 1, 1953, despite a complete lack of medical personnel, including nurses, and an overall lack of infrastructure to support the system.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Following the end of the Korean War, North Korea committed national funds to implement the system, but the country\u2019s resources were too meager for it to cover the expenses required for universal care. North Koreans have long lived without proper access to quality medical care while the state has claimed it provides \u201cfree medical care for all.\u201d The country\u2019s propaganda states that the free healthcare system guarantees the \u201csuperiority of the Korean Workers\u2019 Party and Suryong\u2019s (Supreme Leader&#8217;s) policies for the people.\u201d The government proclaims that the free healthcare system has improved the health of the people and contributed to their financial welfare by enabling them to spend money on other important things. The reality is, however, that the system is nothing more than a failed attempt by the North Korean state to be viewed as succeeding in maintaining a social welfare state.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>According to sources in South Pyongan Province, North Koreans are discontent with the rampant, potentially life-threatening and illegal production and sales of medical devices and pharmaceutical products in the country\u2019s markets, due to the recent rapid rise in prices. In North and South Pyongan provinces, there are reportedly more and more pharmaceutical products being sold that are produced illegally by private citizens.<\/div>\n<div>\n<table class=\"bbs_caption1_box\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201806\/DNKE_2883_334409_1527841159_i.jpg\" \/><br \/>\n<a class=\"bbs_caption1\">Some of the most popular illegally produced pharmaceutical products in North Korea.<br \/>\nTable: Daily NK<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div>If a sick person asks a doctor for a night visit, they are expected to provide cigarettes, alcohol, or a meal, and must pay extra for the medicine they are prescribed. If a sick person appears wealthy, the doctor may put effort into diagnosing what is wrong, otherwise, they are seen as a waste of time.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Residents have been complaining about the rising costs involved in receiving a diagnosis from doctors affiliated with the country\u2019s medical system.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The concept of \u201cfree healthcare\u201d is barely recognizable in state-run medical facilities. A source in South Pyongan Province reported that one North Korean who went to a hospital for a sonogram had to pay an extra 30,000 KPW to the doctor administering the sonogram even after paying 20,000 KPW to the attending doctor. This person ended up paying around 190,000 KPW in total for the hospital trip: 40,000 KPW for travel, 50,000 KPW for meals and a room to sleep, and 50,000 KPW for the actual hospital costs.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>They ended up being told that an appendectomy was required. After paying the fees for the diagnosis, he paid another 100,000 KPW in cash to the surgeon. He paid around 80,000 KPW for a seven-day stay in the hospital, and bought bandages, disinfectant, antibiotics, and nutrition supplements at the market with his own money.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>While North Korea spreads propaganda about its \u201cfree healthcare system,\u201d this North Korean citizen spent around 400,000 KPW for his diagnosis and surgery, with the price not even including his own purchases of medicine. A kilogram of rice sells for around 5,000 KPW in North Korea, so it was the equivalent of 80 kilograms of rice, which could feed an entire family for six months. The individual\u2019s official monthly salary was only 3,500 KPW.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The country\u2019s medical system is fully dependent on the market system, and those in need of medical care must pay all costs required for diagnosis, surgery and recovery if they want treatment.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The more dangerous the medical procedure, the more expensive the price. Female birth control surgery costs 3 million KPW, while surgery to remove uterine cysts costs 4 million KPW. One female farm worker in Paeksong-ri, Pyongsong, who knew she had uterine cancer, reportedly died because she didn\u2019t have the money to pay for surgery and was left suffering at home.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>For ailments that don\u2019t require surgery, North Koreans will visit unlicensed doctors for acupuncture or buy medicine from the markets. The cost of staying in a hospital is too high for most to afford.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>There are many cases in which abortions are performed in unsanitary conditions and patients sometimes get infected with other diseases or die due to uncontrolled blood hemorrhages. The death of a university student in Pyongsong during the process of receiving an illegal abortion in a private home reportedly caused a social uproar in the city.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>North Koreans complain they are leading the lives of \u201cbugs less important than savage animals\u201d when it comes to receiving healthcare.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The poor state of North Korea\u2019s healthcare system is too severe to simply place all the blame on the country\u2019s economic difficulties and international sanctions. If they are paying for medical care anyway, North Koreans should be able to guarantee their \u201cright to life\u201d by choosing their own hospitals and the medical services they receive.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>North Korea\u2019s medical field has never really developed properly due to the country\u2019s closed door policy to the outside world and its emphasis on \u201cautonomous effort equals autonomous strength.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>North Korea\u2019s free universal healthcare system is moribund. Healthcare should not be used as a propaganda tool for the \u201cachievements\u201d of the Party and Suryong. Practical measures must be put in place to guarantee the right of North Koreans to a healthy life and bodily well-being.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Along with the country\u2019s free education system, North Korea\u2019s \u201cFree Universal Health Care System\u201d is touted as being the ideal \u201cpublic health policy for the people\u201d that provides medical services to the entire population on the state\u2019s dime. North Korea implemented its free universal healthcare system for laborers, farmers, office workers and their families from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":36195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[644],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-analysis-and-opinion"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v28.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The realities of North Korea\u2019s free universal healthcare system - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/the-realities-of-north-koreas-free\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The realities of North Korea\u2019s free universal healthcare system\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Along with the country\u2019s free education system, North Korea\u2019s \u201cFree Universal Health Care System\u201d is touted as being the ideal \u201cpublic health policy for the people\u201d that provides medical services to the entire population on the state\u2019s dime. 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