There’s limited information available about the daily lives of people living in North Korea, one of the world’s most isolated nations.
The country is home to about 26 million people. Kim Jong Un, the current Great Leader, has near-total control of the country and leads a repressive regime that is willing to do away with political dissidents.
While Kim boasts his great military and nuclear might to the rest of the world, many North Korean citizens quietly struggle, suffering from malnutrition and poor living conditions. Most citizens have little idea of what’s going on in the outside world due to government restrictions on travel and electricity.
North Korean citizens are active in the workforce, though sometimes against their will. Most North Koreans don’t have a say in their professions and are assigned a job. Tens of thousands are being held in political prison camps where many are used for forced labor.
Below, take a look into the mostly hidden world of the work-life of North Korea.
Many in the country suffer from food scarcity.
Following a catastrophic famine in the 1990s, North Korea pushed to increase its agricultural production. Still, food insecurity in the region is alarmingly high.
The country was receiving food aid until 2009, and in recent years, corn and rice production has improved.
Many North Koreans work in agriculture.
North Korea’s disdain for modern technological intervention is, in part, a way to add more laborers to the workforce. More machines would mean fewer workers.
Some farmers rely on relatively primitive methods to farm the land. The nation has historically struggled to produce the amount of fertilizer it needs.
This noodle restaurant was built at the request of the late leader Kim Il Sung.
Workers at Ongnyugwan, a popular noodle restaurant in Pyongyang, claim to serve 10,000 lunches a day.
The restaurant was built in 1960 at the request of the late leader Kim Il Sung.
The Pothonggang Department Store is in Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
Kim Jong Il opened the Pothonggang Department Store in December 2010 in what officials said was an attempt to improve living conditions in Pyongyang. The store sells electronics, cosmetics, food, housing goods, and more.
While comparatively wealthy citizens shop at the upscale store, poorer city residents buy goods via an extensive black market — often trading American dollars for products.
Workers at the 326 Electric Wire Factory make cables.
The 326 Electric Wire Factory in Pyongyang says it has 1,000 workers on any given day. When the Los Angeles Times visited in 2016, only 100 were on duty.
North Korea’s major trading partner is China, to whom they sell minerals, metals, guns, textiles, and agricultural and fishery products. Russia has also started importing from North Korea.
Images of the Great Leaders are found throughout the country.
Portraits of the Kims — first Great Leader, Kim Il-Sung, his son, Kim Jong Il, and now, Kim Jong Un — can be found throughout the country.
Citizens are taught from a young age to worship their leaders as gods.
North Korea is a major producer of textiles like silk.
The Kim Jong Suk Pyongyang textile factory, named after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s grandmother, claims to employ 1,600 workers, primarily women.
To manufacture silk, workers sort and process silkworms to produce silk threads. Officials have said they produce 200 tons of silk annually.
Some products are modeled after foreign ones.
The Ryuwon Shoe Factory in Pyongyang specializes in sports footwear.
One worker, Kim Kyong Hui, told CBS News in 2019 that “the respected leader Kim Jong Un has instructed us to closely study shoes from all over the world and learn from their example.”
The Chollima Steel Complex in Nampo says it employs more than 8,000 workers.
The Chollima Steel Complex is one of several North Korean steel complexes.
It was built by Mitsubishi when Japan ruled over the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. Production briefly stopped after World War II but resumed in 1953.
People work in rice fields in North Korea’s Kangwon Province.
Wonsan, the capital of the Kangwon province, is a major port city. It is being developed into a tourist site with several attractions, though tourism is highly limited.
North Korea allowed some Russian visitors earlier in 2024 amid the growing relationship between North Korea and Russia. It has also historically allowed Chinese tourists.
The prices of corn and rice products increased amid the pandemic.
Food scarcity was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The nation has strict internal and external security.
North Korea has a robust internal security administration that monitors its citizens. Officers in the Ministry of Public Security, the nation’s law enforcement agency, function as a national constabulary.
Reports from the US Department of State indicate that North Koreans live under threat of human rights violations such as arbitrary arrests and punishments for alleged transgressions by family members. The government permits secret and unlawful killings of accused dissidents.
North Koreans lived under severe restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, North Koreans lived under strict rules and restrictions, some of which may still be in place.
In May 2022, Kim Jong Un blamed his own officials and their “irresponsible work attitude” for a surge in COVID-19 infections.
The nation said it would reopen some travel in December 2024.
North Korean officials announced that some tourism activity could resume in December 2024, years after the COVID-19 pandemic first hit.
Though most other countries have reopened and resumed life as normal, North Korea has used the pandemic as an excuse to maintain harsh restrictions. Reports indicated that citizens were executed for violating pandemic rules.
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