Recently, it has been reported that in some areas of North Korea, urban residents are migrating to rural areas due to financial difficulties.
On the 18th, a Daily NK Hamgyongnam-do source said, “Recently, some residents living in Hamheung City are migrating to nearby counties such as Hongwon-gun and Liwon-gun,” adding, “They are leaving for the countryside because their livelihoods are threatened to the point where they can no longer survive in the city. “It was reported.
According to sources, the migration of Hamheung residents to rural areas has been noticeable since the end of last month.
Most of the residents migrating to rural areas are merchants who made a living by selling goods in the market. Due to the recent rise in exchange rates and a surge in prices, the earnings of merchants who were barely making a living each day have decreased, putting them in a serious situation where it is difficult to even afford meals. am.
In particular, as winter approached, they were forced into an even more desperate environment where they had to prepare fuel for heating and cooking, and eventually decided to move to rural areas where they could make a living, the source explained.
The source said, “At the end of last month and the beginning of this month, two households moved to the countryside in one people’s unit in Seongchon River District, Hamheung City. One household sold their house and moved to Hongwon County, and one household rented their house for 100 to 150 yuan a month and moved to Rakwon County.” “It is reported that he entered a relative’s house in ,” he said.
He continued, “This generation lived the most difficult life in that neighborhood, and when winter was coming right away and they could not prepare for the winter, they decided to move to the countryside.” He added, “Hongwon-gun and Rakwon-gun have the sea, so when ships come in, they can catch fish in their nets.” “This is because you can make a living by doing things like tearing fish or dividing fish into different types,” he said.
In North Korea, where freedom of movement is limited, it is very difficult to move from a rural area to a city, but on the contrary, moving from a city to a rural area is relatively easy.
If you live in a rural area, you have to live as a farmer for generations, so rural residents try to move their residence to the city by any means possible for their children. However, there are not many residents who want to move from the city to the rural area, so it is said that moving to the rural area is relatively easy.
In relation to this, the source said, “People moved from the countryside to the city, but it was rare to find households moving from the city to the countryside. But now, as economic difficulties and threats to livelihoods increase, migration to the countryside is becoming a survival strategy.” He said.
He said, “If you move to the countryside, your children will have to live as farmers for generations, but the best way to survive without starving to death right away is to move to the countryside, so you have no choice but to choose this path.” He added, “This phenomenon is not only in South Hamgyong Province, but also in Pyeongan Province.” “It is also appearing in North and South Provinces and Ryanggang Province,” he said.
Meanwhile, the source said, “There are still many generations of residents living in the city barely scraping by, but most of them are stubbornly holding on out of concern that their children may rot for the rest of their lives in the countryside.” He added, “These days, merchants are saying, ‘I wish we could go back to the way it was before the coronavirus.’ “I’m doing it as if I’m memorizing the lyrics,” he said.
Source: www.dailynk.com
