Self-reliance campaign forces vendors away from markets during crucial winter selling season

As business slows to a trickle at North Korea’s informal marketplaces, North Koreans are complaining about being constantly called up for mandatory community service projects that prevent them from earning money during critical winter preparations.

“Now that the fall harvest is over, everybody is grimly hurrying to prepare for the winter. Business has dried up at the markets, but the government keeps holding community service projects under the banner of self-reliance. That just makes it even tougher for people to make a living,” a source in North Hamgyong province told Daily NK recently.

The source said a chill wind is blowing in Musan county, on the country’s northern border, after the year’s first snowfall. Markets have seen a flurry of customers hoping to buy fuel for the winter, but many go home empty-handed, much to vendors’ dismay.

“Locals show up in patched shoes with rubber soles. They browse around the booths selling winter fuel without even glancing at factory goods. But many customers can’t even afford the fuel,” the source said.

“You can’t buy coal briquettes without cash. People around here are so broke nowadays that they’re going up to the hills to cut down firewood. It’s no exaggeration to say the local population is totally dependent on the woods.”

Things are not much better in Chongjin, a city with a large wholesale market.

Chinese-made goods are pouring into the markets, but vendors’ stock is piling up with few purchases. The wholesalers who supply these goods on credit are worried, too, since their debt is ballooning as retailers struggle to settle their bills.

“There are plenty of sellers, but no buyers. Business is typically decent in October and November, but this year it’s so slow that vendors are constantly losing money, leading many to consider shutting their doors for good,” another source in North Hamgyong province said.

Sources blame the market slowdown on the community service and collective labor projects that the authorities are always organizing as part of the “self-reliance” drive.

North Koreans are too busy with their community obligations to work at the markets, which results in them making less money, perpetuating a vicious cycle in the local economy.

Residents of North Hamgyong province are currently required to take part in various state-ordered labor projects, including logging in mountainous areas, and to make “donations” of cold-weather gear and other supplies.

As a result, North Koreans who depend on the market for their livelihood are kept away from their stalls until the late afternoon and often go home for the day with hardly any earnings.

“Party officials like to say that today’s hardship will pave the way for great things and that community service is essential for achieving the socialist value of self-reliance, but such platitudes are cold comfort for those struggling to make ends meet,” the source said.

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