{"id":62894,"date":"2025-04-03T09:30:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T00:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=62894"},"modified":"2026-04-05T15:53:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T06:53:11","slug":"n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/","title":{"rendered":"N. Korean parents struggle with hefty school decoration fees as new academic year approaches"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-test-render-count=\"1\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"group relative -tracking-[0.015em] px-2 pb-3\" data-is-streaming=\"false\">\n<div class=\"font-claude-message relative leading-[1.65rem] [&amp;_pre&gt;div]:bg-bg-300 [&amp;_.ignore-pre-bg&gt;div]:bg-transparent\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"grid-cols-1 grid gap-2.5 [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0\">\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">As North Korean schools prepare for the new academic year starting April 1, parents are frustrated by school decoration fees their children are expected to pay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">&#8220;Schools across Pyongsong and other parts of the province are asking students to contribute to classroom decoration costs. Nearly all schools are collecting cash,&#8221; a source in South Pyongan province told Daily NK recently.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">Every year, North Korean schools repaint classroom walls and chalkboards in mid-March before classes begin. But with insufficient budgets to cover these expenses, schools pass the costs to students.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">&#8220;Parents with school-aged children generally anticipate covering classroom decoration expenses when March arrives. But they&#8217;re increasingly frustrated by how much they&#8217;re being charged,&#8221; the source said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">According to the source, one Pyongsong elementary school recently demanded about 90,000 North Korean won (approximately $11 at current black market exchange rates) per student for decoration supplies. The exact amount varies by grade size, with parents in smaller grades expected to pay more than 100,000 won (about $12.50) per child.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">The requested amount (90,000-100,000 won) is enough to purchase around 10 kilograms of rice at the market. This represents a substantial expense for families already struggling to provide two meals daily.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">The decoration fee is particularly burdensome during the spring &#8220;lean period&#8221; when food supplies typically run low.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">&#8220;People are trying to cut back on groceries since the &#8216;barley hump&#8217; began in March. With schools demanding such large sums during this difficult time, parents are desperate about finding ways to come up with the money,&#8221; the source said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">Some parents reportedly go into debt to cover these fees, fearing their children will face bullying if they don&#8217;t pay on time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">&#8220;As making a living becomes harder, people generally limit themselves to having just one or two kids. Yet strangely, raising children seems to grow more expensive each year. Many parents are stressed about the upcoming school year because of these decoration fees,&#8221; the source added.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/20250325-4\/\">Read in Korean<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As North Korean schools prepare for the new academic year starting April 1, parents are frustrated by school decoration fees their children are expected to pay. &#8220;Schools across Pyongsong and other parts of the province are asking students to contribute to classroom decoration costs. Nearly all schools are collecting cash,&#8221; a source in South Pyongan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":62153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1360,67],"tags":[123,703,714,729,794,1098,1189,1986,100],"class_list":["post-62894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-society","category-news","tag-farming","tag-education","tag-economy","tag-students","tag-south-pyongan-province","tag-pyongsong","tag-children","tag-families","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>N. Korean parents struggle with hefty school decoration fees as new academic year approaches - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As North Korean schools prepare for the new academic year starting April 1, parents are frustrated by school decoration fees.\" \/>\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\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"N. Korean parents struggle with hefty school decoration fees as new academic year approaches\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As North Korean schools prepare for the new academic year starting April 1, parents are frustrated by school decoration fees.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-03T00:30:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-05T06:53:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/12\/20220520_hya_\uace0\uae09\uc911\ud559\uad50.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"741\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"494\" \/>\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\\\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lee Chae Eun\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6c9f40b0a89c4a5354607f43756dbbe0\"},\"headline\":\"N. Korean parents struggle with hefty school decoration fees as new academic year approaches\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-03T00:30:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-05T06:53:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":335,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/20220520_hya_\uace0\uae09\uc911\ud559\uad50.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"farming\",\"education\",\"economy\",\"students\",\"south pyongan province\",\"pyongsong\",\"children\",\"families\",\"markets\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Society\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\\\/\",\"name\":\"N. Korean parents struggle with hefty school decoration fees as new academic year approaches - 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\\\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/20220520_hya_\uace0\uae09\uc911\ud559\uad50.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-03T00:30:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-05T06:53:11+00:00\",\"description\":\"As North Korean schools prepare for the new academic year starting April 1, parents are frustrated by school decoration fees.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/20220520_hya_\uace0\uae09\uc911\ud559\uad50.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/20220520_hya_\uace0\uae09\uc911\ud559\uad50.jpg\",\"width\":741,\"height\":494,\"caption\":\"A middle school in North Korea's Jagang province. (Rodong Sinmun, News1)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"N. Korean parents struggle with hefty school decoration fees as new academic year approaches\"}]},{\"@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\\\/6c9f40b0a89c4a5354607f43756dbbe0\",\"name\":\"Lee Chae Eun\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp\",\"caption\":\"Lee Chae Eun\"},\"description\":\"Lee Chae Eun covers trade and market trends, as well as the North Korean government's surveillance and control of its citizens. 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. Questions about her articles can be directed to dailynkenglish(at)uni-media.net.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/author\\\/lee-chea-un\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"N. Korean parents struggle with hefty school decoration fees as new academic year approaches - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","description":"As North Korean schools prepare for the new academic year starting April 1, parents are frustrated by school decoration fees.","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\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"N. Korean parents struggle with hefty school decoration fees as new academic year approaches","og_description":"As North Korean schools prepare for the new academic year starting April 1, parents are frustrated by school decoration fees.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/","og_site_name":"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","article_published_time":"2025-04-03T00:30:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-05T06:53:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":741,"height":494,"url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/12\/20220520_hya_\uace0\uae09\uc911\ud559\uad50.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\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/"},"author":{"name":"Lee Chae Eun","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/6c9f40b0a89c4a5354607f43756dbbe0"},"headline":"N. Korean parents struggle with hefty school decoration fees as new academic year approaches","datePublished":"2025-04-03T00:30:48+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-05T06:53:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/"},"wordCount":335,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/12\/20220520_hya_\uace0\uae09\uc911\ud559\uad50.jpg","keywords":["farming","education","economy","students","south pyongan province","pyongsong","children","families","markets"],"articleSection":["Society","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/","name":"N. Korean parents struggle with hefty school decoration fees as new academic year approaches - 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\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/12\/20220520_hya_\uace0\uae09\uc911\ud559\uad50.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-03T00:30:48+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-05T06:53:11+00:00","description":"As North Korean schools prepare for the new academic year starting April 1, parents are frustrated by school decoration fees.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/12\/20220520_hya_\uace0\uae09\uc911\ud559\uad50.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/12\/20220520_hya_\uace0\uae09\uc911\ud559\uad50.jpg","width":741,"height":494,"caption":"A middle school in North Korea's Jagang province. (Rodong Sinmun, News1)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-parents-struggle-with-hefty-school-decoration-fees-as-new-academic-year-approaches\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"N. Korean parents struggle with hefty school decoration fees as new academic year approaches"}]},{"@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\/6c9f40b0a89c4a5354607f43756dbbe0","name":"Lee Chae Eun","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp","caption":"Lee Chae Eun"},"description":"Lee Chae Eun covers trade and market trends, as well as the North Korean government's surveillance and control of its citizens. 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. Questions about her articles can be directed to dailynkenglish(at)uni-media.net.","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/author\/lee-chea-un\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62894","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\/132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62894"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62897,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62894\/revisions\/62897"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}