As car culture spreads across North Korea, a new industry is booming: for-profit car washes. Drivers are desperate to keep their vehicles spotless, knowing that dirty cars can mean hefty fines at checkpoints.<\/p>\n
“Some donju<\/em>\u00a0in Hamhung have recently been investing in car washes. Many are opening because more cars are on the road and dirty vehicles aren’t allowed in the city,” a source in South Hamgyong province told Daily NK recently, referring to North Korea’s wealthy entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n Traffic regulations prohibit vehicles with filthy exteriors from entering Pyongyang or major provincial cities. Even drivers returning from long trips must clean their cars before entering urban areas or face fines.<\/p>\n Those caught with unwashed vehicles must complete time-consuming paperwork, including written statements, and pay fines that can reach hundreds of thousands of North Korean won. To avoid the hassle, many drivers make car washes a priority before reaching checkpoints.<\/p>\n Despite the sharp increase in vehicles on North Korean roads, car washes remain scarce, leaving drivers frustrated. Enterprising individuals have filled the gap by opening informal operations, hiring day laborers to wash cars on rented or purchased lots.<\/p>\n In Hamhung, where traffic is growing heavier, many people have recently entered the car wash business. Most operate on the city’s outskirts\u2014partly to avoid authorities, since running for-profit businesses without state permission can be punished as “non-socialist activity.”<\/p>\n The peripheral locations also solve a practical problem: wastewater disposal. Only the outskirts offer space to handle the runoff from washing vehicles, the source explained.<\/p>\n The car wash boom has created an income source for some of North Korea’s most financially vulnerable people.<\/p>\nDay labor opportunity for the struggling<\/strong><\/h4>\n