{"id":37194,"date":"2018-08-13T16:20:57","date_gmt":"2018-08-13T07:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=37194"},"modified":"2026-04-05T15:15:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T06:15:28","slug":"photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/","title":{"rendered":"[Photo] Taxi driving a dream occupation for middle-aged North Korean men"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_37196\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37196\" style=\"width: 696px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-37196\" src=\"http:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/08\/DSC3765-696x464.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/08\/DSC3765-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/08\/DSC3765-696x464-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/08\/DSC3765-696x464-630x420.jpg 630w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37196\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A taxi at the entrance of a village in North Pyongan Province. Image: Daily NK (taken in July 2018)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taxi driving has become a sought-after occupation among North Korean men with the perception that it is a stable, high-paying job. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those hoping to become a driver usually need capital to buy a car and pass a difficult licensing process before they can work. Once eligible, however, there is the potential to earn a lot of money, something that has attracted many men in their 30s and 40s to the profession. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A North Korean trader who recently visited China told Daily NK that \u201cNorth Korean men used to trade or work abroad to earn [considerable amounts] of money, but now because of the sanctions many are running their own private home businesses or working as taxi drivers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He added that those hoping to become taxi drivers get their licenses from driver education offices in their home districts and must pay 120,000 won (around US $150) each month to their taxi company. They must also give a bribe of more than $500 to get their license issued and maintain their licensed status. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A new car in North Korea can cost more than US $10,000, while a used one can go for $5-6,000. Small minivans, called \u201cnonggubang,\u201d go for around $5,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are also cars that sell for around $2,000 but these are generally unsuitable for use as taxis. Most taxi drivers prefer used cars that have a reasonable exterior and run well. There are many drivers with vans that can transport groups of workers near the border region, which typically has very poor roads. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taxi drivers can often earn more than trading company employees, so many aspiring drivers borrow money to enter the profession, said the trader. \u201cTaxi drivers who collect a couple of regular passengers traveling long distances can earn a fixed salary of several hundred dollars per month,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chinese tourists who visit North Korea have shared photos online of North Korean taxis and described the vibrant industry in the country. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">North Korea\u2019s public transport system has failed to meet growing demand arising from the growth of the country\u2019s markets. Taxis have become the most accessible way for the country\u2019s elite and business people to move around. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taxis allow for fast, convenient transport of packages and other items, as well as long-distance travel between major cities. Furthermore, those travelling in taxis can avoid being stopped for travel permit inspections, as security officials are routinely bribed. Despite being somewhat expensive, they remain a preferred mode of transport and competition is fierce for vacancies at taxi companies. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">North Korean taxis typically charge about two dollars for base fare, and around 50 cents per kilometer thereafter. Long-distance taxis generally charge up to $90 for travel within a specific province, while cross-provincial travel can cost customers over 100 dollars. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere are a lot of customers and the shortage of taxis means that competition is fierce and the cost of buying a vehicle has gone up,\u201d said a source in North Hamgyong Province on August 7. \u201cThere are taxi drivers who have gone into debt to start driving and then gotten into an accident. They are placed in very difficult circumstances.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTaxi driving may be a popular profession, but only those who have the money or some kind of financial sponsor can do it,\u201d a source in North Pyongan Province added, suggesting that becoming a driver is still a difficult achievement for most North Koreans. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Taxi driving has become a sought-after occupation among North Korean men with the perception that it is a stable, high-paying job. Those hoping to become a driver usually need capital to buy a car and pass a difficult licensing process before they can work. Once eligible, however, there is the potential to earn a lot [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":37196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[645],"tags":[100],"class_list":["post-37194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-markets"],"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>[Photo] Taxi driving a dream occupation for middle-aged North Korean men - 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\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"[Photo] Taxi driving a dream occupation for middle-aged North Korean men\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Taxi driving has become a sought-after occupation among North Korean men with the perception that it is a stable, high-paying job. Those hoping to become a driver usually need capital to buy a car and pass a difficult licensing process before they can work. Once eligible, however, there is the potential to earn a lot [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-13T07:20:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-05T06:15:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/08\/DSC3765-696x464.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"696\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"464\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kang Mi Jin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kang Mi Jin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kang Mi Jin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8789e130dba923652e871f7d654e0cfc\"},\"headline\":\"[Photo] Taxi driving a dream occupation for middle-aged North Korean men\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-13T07:20:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-05T06:15:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":591,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/DSC3765-696x464.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"markets\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\\\/\",\"name\":\"[Photo] Taxi driving a dream occupation for middle-aged North Korean men - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/DSC3765-696x464.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-13T07:20:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-05T06:15:28+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/DSC3765-696x464.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/DSC3765-696x464.jpg\",\"width\":696,\"height\":464,\"caption\":\"\ubd81\ud55c \ud3c9\uc548\ubd81\ub3c4 \uc555\ub85d\uac15\ubcc0\uc758 \ud55c \ub9c8\uc744 \uc785\uad6c\uc5d0 \uc11c \uc788\ub294 \ud0dd\uc2dc(\uc9c0\ub09c 7\uc6d4 \uc911\uc21c). \\\/\uc0ac\uc9c4=\ub370\uc77c\ub9acNK A taxi at the entrance of a village in North Pyongan Province. Image: Daily NK (taken in July 2018)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"[Photo] Taxi driving a dream occupation for middle-aged North Korean men\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\",\"name\":\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Daily NK English\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/top_logo@1x.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/top_logo@1x.png\",\"width\":272,\"height\":90,\"caption\":\"Daily NK English\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"description\":\"An independent online news organization based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on internal North Korean affairs through a network of in-country sources and defector journalists. Part of the Unification Media Group (UMG) consortium.\",\"email\":\"dailynkenglish@uni-media.net\",\"telephone\":\"82-2-732-6998\",\"legalName\":\"DailyNK\",\"foundingDate\":\"2004-12-01\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"1\",\"maxValue\":\"10\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8789e130dba923652e871f7d654e0cfc\",\"name\":\"Kang Mi Jin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/KakaoTalk_20190305_114828683-1-150x150-1.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/KakaoTalk_20190305_114828683-1-150x150-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/KakaoTalk_20190305_114828683-1-150x150-1.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Kang Mi Jin\"},\"description\":\"Kang Mi Jin is a North Korean defector turned journalist who fled North Korea in 2009. She has a degree in economics and writes largely on marketization and economy-related issues for Daily NK. Questions about her articles can be directed to dailynkenglish(at)uni-media.net.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/author\\\/kang-mi-jin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"[Photo] Taxi driving a dream occupation for middle-aged North Korean men - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"[Photo] Taxi driving a dream occupation for middle-aged North Korean men","og_description":"Taxi driving has become a sought-after occupation among North Korean men with the perception that it is a stable, high-paying job. Those hoping to become a driver usually need capital to buy a car and pass a difficult licensing process before they can work. Once eligible, however, there is the potential to earn a lot [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/","og_site_name":"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","article_published_time":"2018-08-13T07:20:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-05T06:15:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":696,"height":464,"url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/08\/DSC3765-696x464.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kang Mi Jin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kang Mi Jin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/"},"author":{"name":"Kang Mi Jin","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/8789e130dba923652e871f7d654e0cfc"},"headline":"[Photo] Taxi driving a dream occupation for middle-aged North Korean men","datePublished":"2018-08-13T07:20:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-05T06:15:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/"},"wordCount":591,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/08\/DSC3765-696x464.jpg","keywords":["markets"],"articleSection":["Economy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/","name":"[Photo] Taxi driving a dream occupation for middle-aged North Korean men - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/08\/DSC3765-696x464.jpg","datePublished":"2018-08-13T07:20:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-05T06:15:28+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/08\/DSC3765-696x464.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/08\/DSC3765-696x464.jpg","width":696,"height":464,"caption":"\ubd81\ud55c \ud3c9\uc548\ubd81\ub3c4 \uc555\ub85d\uac15\ubcc0\uc758 \ud55c \ub9c8\uc744 \uc785\uad6c\uc5d0 \uc11c \uc788\ub294 \ud0dd\uc2dc(\uc9c0\ub09c 7\uc6d4 \uc911\uc21c). \/\uc0ac\uc9c4=\ub370\uc77c\ub9acNK A taxi at the entrance of a village in North Pyongan Province. Image: Daily NK (taken in July 2018)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/photo-taxi-driving-a-dream-occupation-for-middle-aged-north-korean-men\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"[Photo] Taxi driving a dream occupation for middle-aged North Korean men"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/","name":"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization","name":"Daily NK English","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/top_logo@1x.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/top_logo@1x.png","width":272,"height":90,"caption":"Daily NK English"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"description":"An independent online news organization based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on internal North Korean affairs through a network of in-country sources and defector journalists. Part of the Unification Media Group (UMG) consortium.","email":"dailynkenglish@uni-media.net","telephone":"82-2-732-6998","legalName":"DailyNK","foundingDate":"2004-12-01","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"1","maxValue":"10"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/8789e130dba923652e871f7d654e0cfc","name":"Kang Mi Jin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/KakaoTalk_20190305_114828683-1-150x150-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/KakaoTalk_20190305_114828683-1-150x150-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/KakaoTalk_20190305_114828683-1-150x150-1.jpg","caption":"Kang Mi Jin"},"description":"Kang Mi Jin is a North Korean defector turned journalist who fled North Korea in 2009. She has a degree in economics and writes largely on marketization and economy-related issues for Daily NK. Questions about her articles can be directed to dailynkenglish(at)uni-media.net.","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/author\/kang-mi-jin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/145"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37194"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37201,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37194\/revisions\/37201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}