As North Korea continues its industrial and residential construction drive in the countryside, residents of Ryanggang province are reportedly tired of being drafted for labor brigades as construction efforts resume this year.
“There’s a residential construction project underway for farmers in the Kanggu neighborhood of Hyesan along with a priority construction project in Samjiyon. As part of those projects, factories and enterprises in Kimhyongjik county are being pressured to assign staff to labor brigades,” a source in the province told Daily NK recently.
“Lists of names are currently being prepared for labor brigades that will be assigned to a paper plant, lumber mill, and factory for everyday necessities that are being built in the county,” the source said.
“It’s my fate to work far from home,” bemoaned a worker who has been assigned to a labor brigade. That same worker previously endured numerous hardships with a labor brigade on a canal in Hwanghae province.
Workers who are resigned to being unable to avoid a stint on a labor brigade reportedly take some comfort from comparing the various construction sites at which they may end up.
“If you can’t get out of an assignment, sure it’s better to be assigned somewhere with decent working conditions,” one worker reasoned.
Comparing sites, paying bribes to escape
Everybody dreads the idea of being sent to the residential construction site in the Kanggu neighborhood of Hyesan because of rumors about poor work conditions there. Progress is slow because of inadequate materials, and workers often end up spending the whole day in an unheated break room with nothing to do.
But the Samjiyon construction site is said to be a considerable improvement both in terms of supplies and housing conditions. Many workers reportedly prefer being assigned to the labor brigade at Samjiyon over the one building farmers’ houses, assuming that conditions will be better at a construction project that is a priority for the state.
At the same time, some North Koreans are resorting to bribes to get out of labor brigade assignments.
“The head of a work crew at the paper plant in Kimhyongjik county openly demands 200–300 yuan ($27-$41) for removing people from the labor brigade there. In the past, that only cost 100 yuan, but the price is double or even triple that nowadays,” the source said.
“It’s sometimes possible to dodge a labor brigade assignment by slipping 400 yuan ($55) to the site manager or the party secretary before the lists are made public. If you can’t afford those prices, the only option is to grit your teeth and join the labor brigade,” the source remarked.
The increasing frequency of mobilization for labor brigades—as part of the regime’s signature policy of developing the countryside—has left workers feeling noticeably frustrated and dejected.
“In the past under Kim Jong Il, large-scale mobilization only happened for certain projects being pushed by the state. But nowadays these projects are happening every year, and sometimes two or even three times in a single year. It’s inevitable that fatigue will build over selection for labor brigades,” the source said.
Workers’ complaints are mounting because labor brigade mobilization has a considerable impact on household finances.
“When men are at their regular jobs, they can at least help their wives carry merchandise to the market on their way to work. But when they’re off with the labor brigade, they can’t help out at all,” the source said.
“Since these men only receive a pittance whether they’re at the factory or a construction site, their wives’ market activities are an important source of income. Many workers are distressed that they can’t help their wives when they’re out with the brigade,” the source went on to say.
“The government trots out fancy slogans about provincial development, but that doesn’t do a thing for ordinary folks. This campaign leads to people being repeatedly called up for labor brigades, which upsets their routines.”
January 27, 2026 at 05:44AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)