Air conditioners are fast becoming a household essential in North Korea, with demand surging ahead of what many expect to be another punishing summer. The shift marks a notable change in a country where cooling units were long considered a luxury reserved for the privileged.
A source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK on Friday that the sentiment on the ground has changed sharply since last year’s extreme heat. “Anyone who can afford it is determined to get an air conditioner at home,” the source said. “After going through the severe heat last summer, the view that you simply cannot get through it without one has taken hold.”
From luxury item to household staple
The source said the number of households in Sinuiju city installing air conditioners has grown noticeably in recent months. Families with access to a separately metered electricity supply and the means to cover higher power bills are moving quickly to get units installed before summer arrives.
Chinese-made air conditioners, available in both floor-standing and wall-mounted models, are currently being sold in Sinuiju markets at prices ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 Chinese yuan (approximately $275 to $550). Given the size of a typical North Korean household, lower-priced models are sufficient to cool an entire home, and it is these budget units that are proving most popular.
Electricity supply remains the central constraint. In central urban areas like Sinuiju, relatively stable power supply has allowed air conditioner ownership to spread. But in outlying areas where electricity is more erratic, having a unit installed does not guarantee being able to use it. North Korean people in those areas are responding by independently securing generators and batteries in advance, taking matters into their own hands rather than waiting on the state grid.
The installation boom has created a parallel surge in demand for technicians. The source said that ahead of summer, inquiry calls are flooding in and technicians are traveling not just within the city but to surrounding areas to keep up. Installation fees stand at 200 yuan (approximately $28), an amount the source acknowledged is a stretch for lower-income households, though many are willing to push their budgets in order to have a unit ready before the heat arrives.
Looking further ahead, the source suggested that air conditioner maintenance and cleaning services are likely to grow into their own market segment as ownership becomes more widespread. Technical work in the cooling sector is already being spoken of as one of the more promising trades a person can enter. “Technicians make more money at this time of year than at any other point,” the source said. “As summer approaches, they are only going to get busier.”
Reporting from inside North Korea
Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information through secure channels. Unlike reporting based on state media, satellite imagery, or defector accounts from years past, our journalism comes directly from people currently living under the regime. We verify reports through multiple independent sources and cross-reference details before publication.
Our sources remain anonymous because contact with foreign media is treated as a capital offense in North Korea — discovery means imprisonment or execution. This network-based approach allows Daily NK to report on developments other outlets cannot access: market trends, policy implementation, public sentiment, and daily realities that never appear in official narratives.
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April 27, 2026 at 10:51PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)