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New homes in North Korea’s Yanggang Province are very drafty

People who have moved into newly built houses in agricultural areas of Yanggang Province are complaining that the new homes are very drafty, Daily NK has learned.

“People who recently moved into newly built houses in agricultural areas of Yanggang Province, such as Samsu and Kapsan counties, are complaining of severe drafts,” a Daily NK source in Yanggang Province said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. “This is because construction has focused on quantity rather than quality.”

Since the Fourth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee announced a policy to build “new socialist rural housing” in late 2021, the country has been building houses in agricultural communities nationwide.

However, because the state has dumped the problem of securing supplies and labor to build the houses on provincial authorities or individual institutions, people at the bottom of the proverbial totem pole have shouldered the burden.

“Even if the government provided the materials, they couldn’t guarantee the quality. And if the authorities are building the houses by squeezing workers who don’t even get rations, how are they going to ensure quality?” the source said.

Since the rural houses were built on orders from the Workers’ Party, the builders rushed to finish the work as soon as possible. But the people who end up living in the new houses complain of difficulties caused by the shoddy construction.

“The houses were built so poorly that ice forms on the walls in winter, and the drafts are so bad that you can’t get out from under the blankets even if you’re wearing winter clothes,” the source said. “Even though the middle of winter has passed, people who have moved into the new apartments are still falling ill from the cold.”

State-media doesn’t reflect reality

On Mar. 3, the Rodong Sinmun published an article on page two on how Ri Ok Chol, head of the production unit of the third work team of the Sapyong collective farm in Kapsan County, and other farmers would repay the party’s kindness by building their new houses. The article was entitled “Worship Shouts from the New Farmhouses.”

In a similar article on Feb. 28, the newspaper promoted the party’s construction of new houses in rural villages, quoting local people.

However, people who read the articles said that “these people must be angry because they have to lie about how happy they are while shivering with cold” and that “no matter how much they promote how happy people are living in the loving bosom of the mother party, no one believes it.” They also lamented the “sad reality” in which “people have to smile and sing ‘thank you’ while freezing and starving to death.”

“If you read the Rodong Sinmun or watch television, people seem to be living happily, but the reality is the opposite,” the source said. “Everything looks fine on the outside, but people are living hellish lives without light, water, or food.

“They are simply promoting the houses without regard to the quality of their construction. It would actually help the people to build one quality house instead of 100 poor quality ones. And solving the food problem is even more important. What people need more now is for the government to provide food so they don’t starve to death.”

Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler. 

Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK’s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page here.

Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.

Read in Korean

March 15, 2024 at 11:30AM

by DailyNK(North Korean Media)

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