{"id":49478,"date":"2021-09-09T15:05:47","date_gmt":"2021-09-09T06:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=49478"},"modified":"2021-09-09T15:08:51","modified_gmt":"2021-09-09T06:08:51","slug":"north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korean district office heads join crackdown on grasshopper merchants"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With North Korean police, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">inminban<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (people\u2019s unit) heads and even district office chiefs recently joining a crackdown on streetside commerce, conflicts with local residents are growing, says a source.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Tuesday that the Central Committee reissued an order on Aug. 9 calling for beefed up controls on streetside commerce. \u201cFollowing the order from the Central Committee, even the district office chief has begun cracking down on streetside commerce, and fights with locals are breaking out here and there,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the source, a fight between grasshopper merchants and the district office chief broke out in front of a vegetable wholesaler in Hyesan on Sept. 2.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The merchants protested that the district office chief should be helping struggling people during tough times, but he was instead preventing them from \u201cearning even enough for gruel.\u201d The district office chief responded by saying \u201cthe country was struggling because of people like you who don\u2019t listen.\u201d This sparked a tussle.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_40626\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-40626\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-40626\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\u1107\u116e\u11a8\u1102\u1169\u11bc\u110e\u1169\u11ab_1-\u110c\u1161\u110c\u1165\u11ab\u1100\u1165-\u1109\u1169_\u1103\u1161\u11af\u1100\u116e\u110c\u1175-\u1109\u1161\u11af\u1105\u1175\u11b7\u110c\u1175\u11b8-\u1109\u116e\u11ab\u110e\u1165\u11ab-\u1100\u116a\u11ab\u1105\u1175\u110b\u116f\u11ab-1.jpg\" alt=\"Market official on patrol in Sunchon, South Pyongan Province\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\u1107\u116e\u11a8\u1102\u1169\u11bc\u110e\u1169\u11ab_1-\u110c\u1161\u110c\u1165\u11ab\u1100\u1165-\u1109\u1169_\u1103\u1161\u11af\u1100\u116e\u110c\u1175-\u1109\u1161\u11af\u1105\u1175\u11b7\u110c\u1175\u11b8-\u1109\u116e\u11ab\u110e\u1165\u11ab-\u1100\u116a\u11ab\u1105\u1175\u110b\u116f\u11ab-1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\u1107\u116e\u11a8\u1102\u1169\u11bc\u110e\u1169\u11ab_1-\u110c\u1161\u110c\u1165\u11ab\u1100\u1165-\u1109\u1169_\u1103\u1161\u11af\u1100\u116e\u110c\u1175-\u1109\u1161\u11af\u1105\u1175\u11b7\u110c\u1175\u11b8-\u1109\u116e\u11ab\u110e\u1165\u11ab-\u1100\u116a\u11ab\u1105\u1175\u110b\u116f\u11ab-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\u1107\u116e\u11a8\u1102\u1169\u11bc\u110e\u1169\u11ab_1-\u110c\u1161\u110c\u1165\u11ab\u1100\u1165-\u1109\u1169_\u1103\u1161\u11af\u1100\u116e\u110c\u1175-\u1109\u1161\u11af\u1105\u1175\u11b7\u110c\u1175\u11b8-\u1109\u116e\u11ab\u110e\u1165\u11ab-\u1100\u116a\u11ab\u1105\u1175\u110b\u116f\u11ab-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\u1107\u116e\u11a8\u1102\u1169\u11bc\u110e\u1169\u11ab_1-\u110c\u1161\u110c\u1165\u11ab\u1100\u1165-\u1109\u1169_\u1103\u1161\u11af\u1100\u116e\u110c\u1175-\u1109\u1161\u11af\u1105\u1175\u11b7\u110c\u1175\u11b8-\u1109\u116e\u11ab\u110e\u1165\u11ab-\u1100\u116a\u11ab\u1105\u1175\u110b\u116f\u11ab-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\u1107\u116e\u11a8\u1102\u1169\u11bc\u110e\u1169\u11ab_1-\u110c\u1161\u110c\u1165\u11ab\u1100\u1165-\u1109\u1169_\u1103\u1161\u11af\u1100\u116e\u110c\u1175-\u1109\u1161\u11af\u1105\u1175\u11b7\u110c\u1175\u11b8-\u1109\u116e\u11ab\u110e\u1165\u11ab-\u1100\u116a\u11ab\u1105\u1175\u110b\u116f\u11ab-1-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\u1107\u116e\u11a8\u1102\u1169\u11bc\u110e\u1169\u11ab_1-\u110c\u1161\u110c\u1165\u11ab\u1100\u1165-\u1109\u1169_\u1103\u1161\u11af\u1100\u116e\u110c\u1175-\u1109\u1161\u11af\u1105\u1175\u11b7\u110c\u1175\u11b8-\u1109\u116e\u11ab\u110e\u1165\u11ab-\u1100\u116a\u11ab\u1105\u1175\u110b\u116f\u11ab-1-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\u1107\u116e\u11a8\u1102\u1169\u11bc\u110e\u1169\u11ab_1-\u110c\u1161\u110c\u1165\u11ab\u1100\u1165-\u1109\u1169_\u1103\u1161\u11af\u1100\u116e\u110c\u1175-\u1109\u1161\u11af\u1105\u1175\u11b7\u110c\u1175\u11b8-\u1109\u116e\u11ab\u110e\u1165\u11ab-\u1100\u116a\u11ab\u1105\u1175\u110b\u116f\u11ab-1-630x420.jpg 630w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-40626\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Market official on patrol in Sunchon, South Pyongan Province. \/ Image: Daily NK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taking issue with the district office chief\u2019s comment about the country \u201cstruggling,\u201d locals reported him to the local task force handling non-socialist and anti-socialist behavior. He was not punished, however, and is reportedly still cracking down on streetside commerce.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The source said with police, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">inminban <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">heads and now even district office chiefs cracking down on streetside commerce, fights with locals are breaking out every day. \u201cHowever, nobody upstairs is taking any measures,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In North Korea, the district office chief directly meets with local residents. They have played the role of middleman between the authorities and local residents, vividly surveying the execution of policy and administration in their jurisdictions and resolving problems in accordance with the authorities intentions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In fact, the district office chiefs have carried out many duties in the past, including distributing holiday provisions and ration tickets. They have built up an image as \u201cerrand boys,\u201d regularly checking in on decorated soldiers, retired officers and persons of merit to resolve difficulties they may face.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The source said the public had generally held the district office chiefs in high regard, no matter how difficult things got. \u201cWith the authorities roping in even the district office chiefs to police streetside commerce after efforts by the police and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">inminban<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> chiefs failed to stick, public perception of them is turning negative,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"td-post-header\"><em>Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.<\/em><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"td-post-header\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/%eb%8f%99%ec%82%ac%eb%ac%b4%ec%9e%a5-%ea%b8%b8%ea%b1%b0%eb%a6%ac-%ec%9e%a5%ec%82%ac%ea%be%bc%ea%b3%bc-%eb%aa%b8%ec%8b%b8%ec%9b%80-%ec%8b%ac%eb%b6%80%eb%a6%84%ea%be%bc\/\">Read in Korean<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With North Korean police, inminban (people\u2019s unit) heads and even district office chiefs recently joining a crackdown on streetside commerce, conflicts with local residents are growing, says a source. A source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Tuesday that the Central Committee reissued an order on Aug. 9 calling for beefed up controls on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":42954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,1360],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-society"],"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 Korean district office heads join crackdown on grasshopper merchants - 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\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"North Korean district office heads join crackdown on grasshopper merchants\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With North Korean police, inminban (people\u2019s unit) heads and even district office chiefs recently joining a crackdown on streetside commerce, conflicts with local residents are growing, says a source. A source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Tuesday that the Central Committee reissued an order on Aug. 9 calling for beefed up controls on [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-09T06:05:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-09-09T06:08:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"488\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lee Chae Eun\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lee Chae Eun\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lee Chae Eun\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6c9f40b0a89c4a5354607f43756dbbe0\"},\"headline\":\"North Korean district office heads join crackdown on grasshopper merchants\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-09T06:05:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-09T06:08:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":434,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Society\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\\\/\",\"name\":\"North Korean district office heads join crackdown on grasshopper merchants - 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She also closely follows the situation of North Korean defectors living in China. Further details about her identity cannot be made public for security reasons. 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A source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Tuesday that the Central Committee reissued an order on Aug. 9 calling for beefed up controls on [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/","og_site_name":"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","article_published_time":"2021-09-09T06:05:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-09-09T06:08:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":488,"url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lee Chae Eun","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lee Chae Eun","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/"},"author":{"name":"Lee Chae Eun","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/6c9f40b0a89c4a5354607f43756dbbe0"},"headline":"North Korean district office heads join crackdown on grasshopper merchants","datePublished":"2021-09-09T06:05:47+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-09T06:08:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/"},"wordCount":434,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5-1.jpg","articleSection":["News","Society"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/","name":"North Korean district office heads join crackdown on grasshopper merchants - 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\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5-1.jpg","datePublished":"2021-09-09T06:05:47+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-09T06:08:51+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-district-office-heads-join-crackdown-on-grasshopper-merchants\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5-1.jpg","width":800,"height":488,"caption":"A \"grasshopper market,\" or unofficial market, in a village near Pyongyang. 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