→OCTOBER 2019| The Australian Women’s Weekly 67
Investigation
andnoodlescanbehardtofindand
stocksrunoutquickly.Meatis rare
andeggsareincreasinglyso,while
fruitis limitedtoapplesandpears.
A recentUnitedNationsreport
warnedthatfoodproductionin the
DPRKhasfallentoitslowestlevelin
morethana decade,leavinganestimated
11 millionpeople– nearly 44 percent
ofthepopulation– undernourished.
Jihyunsaysthatpeoplein North
Koreaaretoldtheyhavetwokinds
offoodandtwokindsoflife:the
politicalandthephysical.Citizens
areinculcatedwiththenotion
thatwhilea person’sphysicallife
disappearsafterdeath,theirpolitical
lifeis never-ending.
“Theyalsosaythatyoucan
endurephysicalhungerbutnot
gowithoutfoodofthemind.So
whenthereis nofood,it is political
foodthatis supposedtofeedyou,”
shesayswitha ruefullaugh.
Andthatpoliticalfoodis very
tightlycontrolled.Asa woman,
Jihyun says, the freedom to talk
andexpressopinions,tothinkand
plana day’sactivitieswithoutthought
forstatedutieswasunheardof.In
NorthKorea,shecouldneverhave
publiclytoldherstory,butshebelieves
it is criticallyimportantthatshe
speaksoutnow– bothtoexposethe
conditionsin whichwomenlivein
NorthKoreaandtoexplainher
actionstothenextgeneration.
“Ihidmystoryuntil 2012 because
it is a shamefulandpainfulstory,”she
admits.“Butwhenmyoldersonwas
12,hecametomeandsaid,‘Whydid
youabandonandleaveme?’I cried.
I nevereverabandonedhim.Whenhe
wasfive,wewereseparatedand...
hewasleftalonein China,andthe
Chinesepeopletoldhim,‘Yourmother
is nevercomingback.’Hesaid,‘I
counted 100 daysbutyoudidnot
come.Whydidyounotcome?’
“Thatis notjustmyson’squestion.
It is thequestionofsomanyNorth
Koreanchildren.Womendon’t
abandontheirchildren– welove
them. That is why I want to speak,becausetheworldneedstoknow
whathappenstoNorthKorean
women,andwhathappenstothem
in China.”
NorthKoreanwomenare
encouragedtomarryveryyoung,
usuallytomenchosenbytheir
families.If theyarestillsinglebytheir
late20s,theyaredismissedasuseless,
or“rottenfish”.Youngwomenoften
leavehometolivein vastdormitories
whileworkingin state-runfactories
onthecityperipheries.Women
dominatethelight-industryworkforce,
makeuparound 80 percentofthe
ruralworkforceandareoftenthe
majorwageearnersin thefamily.
Inthecities,thestateis thebiggest
employer,thereis littlechoiceof
occupationandmostwomenare
compelledtospendsixdaysa week
workingformeagrewages.The
officialworkingdayis 8amto5pm,
butis followedbya compulsorydaily
CommunityandLearningSession–
a mixtureofpoliticalideology,
partypolicyand“self-criticism”
or“colleaguecriticism”– totake
stockofworkerbehaviour.
Theintrusionofthestateintoevery
aspectoflife,fromworktofamily,
is relentless.Communicationby
telephoneis madethroughoperators
andoftenbecomesa sourceof
rumour,betrayalandsuspicion.
TheEconomistreportedlastyearthat
peoplearestillencouragedtokeepan
eyeonthepoliticalreliabilityoftheir
friends,familyandco-workers,and
arerewardedforreportingmisdeeds.
Evenminorinfringements,such
asperusingsmuggledreligious
pamphlets,canresultin severe
punishment.Unguardedremarks
abouttheleaderoroneofhis
predecessorscanleadtobanishment
fromPyongyangor,in moreegregious
cases,beingcartedofftoa prison
camp– sometimeswithone’sfamily
in tow.
Thefewcitizenswhohavethe
meanstobuya radioorTVmust
reportthistotheauthorities,who
runrandominspectionstoensure
thattheyaretunedtoofficial
programming.Possessionofforeign
magazines, newspapers or religiousFromleft:Thestate
intrudesintoevery
aspectoflife,from
worktofamily;
youngwomenlivein
vastdormitoriesand
workinstate-run
factories;women
areoftenthemajor
wageearnersinthe
family.Belowleft:
A staffmember
posesinfrontofa
chartofapproved
women’shairstyles
in Pyongyang.