North Koreans in major cities are increasingly turning away from traditional single-story homes in favor of apartment buildings, particularly those with staffed security guard posts at building entrances, as rising crime and soaring heating fuel costs make standalone housing feel both dangerous and unaffordable. The trend is most visible in Chongjin in North Hamgyong province and Sinuiju in North Pyongan province.
A source in North Hamgyong province told Daily NK on Monday that upscale apartment buildings in Chongjin now routinely station guards at each building entrance to screen visitors, log residents’ movements, and block unauthorized access. Residents are not only tolerating this level of surveillance but actively demanding it. The guard post system, once a discreet feature of a handful of premium buildings, has become a standard selling point for desirable apartment units.
The security dimension reflects a broader deterioration in public order. As the economic crisis has deepened, survival-driven petty crime has become increasingly common, and in some cases has escalated to assault and violent crime. Single-story homes, which can often be entered by climbing over a wall, are seen as easy targets. Apartments with controlled entryways are perceived as substantially safer, and the contrast is driving a clear shift in housing preferences among those who can afford to move.
A source in North Pyongan province said that among Sinuiju residents, the fear of nighttime intruders makes it difficult to sleep in a single-story home. The source noted that every time news of a violent incident circulates, people say that anyone with money is fleeing to a guarded apartment, and that the avoidance of single-story housing has become markedly more pronounced.
Heating efficiency makes apartments the economical choice
The second major driver is heating costs. Traditional single-story homes in North Korea rely on an underfloor heating system fired by coal briquettes or firewood fed through an external furnace. Apartments were originally designed to receive district heating, a centralized system that distributes waste heat from power stations through underground pipes. In practice, aging infrastructure has rendered district heating unreliable across most of North Korea, and apartment residents have largely switched to individual coal briquette stoves for heating.
Even so, apartments retain a structural heating advantage: the density of multiple units in a single building means that heat generated by one household naturally radiates to neighboring units, reducing the amount of fuel any individual household needs to burn. As coal briquette prices continue to rise year on year, this efficiency gap between apartments and single-story homes has become a significant financial consideration.
The source in North Hamgyong province put it starkly, saying that in a single-story home, a person risks freezing before they starve. Apartments, where even a small amount of fuel goes further because of shared warmth, are seen as the practical choice at a time when every piece of coal counts.
The combined effect of security and heating economics is now being reflected in property prices. Within the same neighborhood, apartments known for reliable guard post operations and good heating efficiency command higher prices and sell faster than comparable units without those features. A source in North Pyongan province said that well-guarded apartments sell almost as soon as they come onto the market.
The traditional single-story home, long the dominant housing form for ordinary North Koreans outside Pyongyang, appears to be entering a period of sustained decline as urban preferences consolidate around apartments that offer both physical security and fuel economy.
Reporting from inside North Korea
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May 20, 2026 at 07:07AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)