Mick Hartley

Back to the Daily NK for some more insights into life under the Kims….

Elderly North Koreans increasingly turn to begging to survive:

North Korean senior citizens who have no children to rely on in a difficult economic situation are roaming around begging, Daily NK sources explained on Tuesday.

“There are many elderly beggars,” a Pyongyang-based source told Daily NK. “Most of them have homes, but they have nothing to eat at home, and no children to bring them rice, so they literally will forage for food in the wild.” 

“Even if they have homes, beggars are beggars, and everyone in the village knows that they are poor,” continued the source. “At the same time, they are not dusty or dirty. They look elderly and thin, but clean overall.” 

There are also an increasing number of such elderly beggars who come into Pyongyang from other regions, Daily NK sources said. These beggars sneak into Pyongyang, taking a detour to avoid the “No. 10 checkpoints” (Ministry of State Security checkpoints). These checkpoints are at various entrances to Pyongyang as well as at the entrances to every major city in North Korea. 

“Admitting that there are beggars in Pyongyang is a source of shame for local neighborhoods, which is why people try to keep quiet about it. It’s a lie, though, to say that Pyongyang doesn’t have beggars,” one of the sources said. “The beggars from the provinces sneak around the No. 10 checkpoints to come into Pyongyang, and because people here aren’t hardhearted, they will give them bread if nothing else. Beggars who come into Pyongyang and have a taste of life there will never go back.”

These itinerant beggars gather where there are lots of people or at factories during working times. When people are done eating they will toss the leftovers to the elderly beggars, who will line up as though at a food distribution center, according to the source.

Drama watching North Korean university student commits suicide:

In Pyongyang, a female university student was arrested at her house by Group 109 while she was watching a South Korean drama.

Group 109 agents told the parents of the female student, “If you want her to avoid the punishment, give us USD 5,000.” The parents borrowed money from everybody who could help, but were able to gather only USD 2,300. They rushed to the agent-in-charge to hand over the money. The officer said, “Are you kidding me?” and then threw a bunch of the money at the parents and made abusive remarks. He did not give the money back. 

Aware of what had happened, the female student committed suicide soon after on the hill behind her house. “I am an honorable person,” she said in her suicide note, “I will prove it with my death, so you can get your money back.” People living in the neighborhood wept and became infuriated after hearing about her suicide and the content of the note. 

The South Korean drama the student was watching was a drama about the life of an ordinary family. Most of the dramas watched in North Korea are about love, work and sorrow in life. North Koreans usually find the necessary strength and courage to carry on while watching these shows. In fact, more than 90% of the citizens enjoy foreign series and movies, and sing South Korean songs. This is the reality in the North Korea of today.