A growing number of North Koreans struggling to make ends meet are selling homes to raise trading capital as soaring prices have sharply driven up the funds needed to start even a small business.
A source in South Hamgyong province told Daily NK on Tuesday that more people in Hamhung are selling their homes, with many now paying a monthly lodging fee to live in someone else’s house instead. Prices have climbed several times over in recent years and, as a result, traders now need far more starting capital than before.
As prices have risen across the board, people with little or no capital have struggled to break into market trading. Many are selling their homes simply to raise the funds needed to get started.
In the past, people short on capital often bought goods on credit and repaid wholesalers after selling them. Lately, however, wider exchange rate swings have often turned that kind of credit trading into a losing proposition.
Traders sell goods in North Korean won but must repay wholesalers based on a foreign currency value. When the exchange rate rises, they need more won to cover the same debt, which cuts into their profits or pushes them into losses.
Traders with enough capital to pay wholesalers upfront avoid this problem. They typically secure goods at lower prices than those buying on credit, but they also carry no debt that grows heavier as the exchange rate climbs.
Exchange rate swings erode savings
“In the past, the exchange rate was relatively stable, so buying on credit rarely led to losses,” the source said. “But now the rate keeps moving, and it’s become much harder for people without capital to get into trading.”
Roughly 1 million North Korean won in capital was once enough to start a small trading business, the source said. Steep increases in prices and the exchange rate now mean traders need at least 10 million won.
The Chinese yuan traded for about 1,200 North Korean won before the COVID-19 pandemic. It has since climbed to roughly 12,000 won, a nearly tenfold increase. A million North Korean won once bought about 800 Chinese yuan, or about $112; today it buys only about 80 yuan.
The real value of North Korean won savings has shrunk sharply as a result. A saying has emerged among people that only those holding foreign currency can survive, the source said. That anxiety is driving some people to sell their homes just to raise capital.
“In the past, there was a strong belief that selling your house to go into trading would ruin you, so few people did it,” the source said. “But now people have to trade to survive, and that requires capital. Since there’s nowhere else to get the money, people end up selling their homes.”
Those who sell their homes typically pay $10 to $14 a month to live in someone else’s house. Many take a spare room from an elderly person living alone, while others move into a room in a house owned by a wealthy homeowner, known as a donju, who rents out part of the property.
Selling a home for capital does not guarantee a stable life, the source cautioned. “People who sold their homes plan to use the money as trading capital first and think about buying another house once they’ve earned enough,” the source said. “But there’s no guarantee the trading will go well, so they could end up losing everything.”
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.
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August 20, 2026 at 11:35PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)