North Korean authorities are pressuring wealthy private traders known as donju — loosely translated as “masters of money,” referring to a class of entrepreneurs who accumulated capital through North Korea’s informal market economy — to donate rice to the state under the banner of “patriotic rice” contributions.
A Daily NK source in Ryanggang province said on Monday that the practice has been intensifying in Hyesan, where affluent traders are being targeted through neighborhood watch units and law enforcement officials. “This is not voluntary in nature,” the source said. “It is strongly coercive.”
The patriotic rice donation campaign dates to 1946, when farmers who received land free of charge during North Korea’s land reform gave a portion of that year’s harvest to the state. Pyongyang has since framed the practice as a symbol of loyalty and patriotism, publicly celebrating large donors as “patriots” to encourage wider participation. The practice has now been revived as a tool to extract resources from the donju class.
“Neighborhood watch units are openly making demands, and law enforcement officials are pressuring the donju with lines like, ‘Don’t just live for your own gain — do something good for the country,’” the source said. Traders who refuse risk attracting unwanted scrutiny and potential penalties, so most comply without resistance.
The source noted a widely shared saying among wealthier North Koreans: “Live short and thick” — a dark expression reflecting the belief that the state will eventually come for anyone with money. “People with money always have suspicious eyes watching them like a shadow,” the source said. “So even to ease that surveillance, they hand over the patriotic rice.”
Donju treat donations as insurance, officials use them to meet targets
In early May, one donju in Hyesan reportedly donated the equivalent of 50,000 Chinese yuan (approximately $6,900) in cash under the patriotic rice label. Others followed with in-kind donations of rice and corn purchased directly from the market, and some made contributions in the names of their children.
“Demanding patriotic rice from people with money is no different from telling them to be patriotic with cash,” the source said. People have reportedly begun drawing comparisons to the era of Kim Il Sung, who called on North Koreans to contribute to postwar reconstruction — each according to their means.
The same pattern is playing out in Hamhung, South Hamgyong province. A second source in South Hamgyong province said neighborhood-level offices there have been receiving frequent directives related to patriotic rice collections. Neighborhood watch unit leaders and district office heads are visiting known wealthy households directly to solicit or pressure donations.
Hamhung’s wealthy include traders who operate fleets of vehicles, as well as those who have profited from illegal activity including drug distribution and gold smuggling. These individuals are now making semi-coerced patriotic rice donations.
“For them, it is a kind of insurance — a way to keep doing business under surveillance,” the second source said. “And for the neighborhood officials, it gives them something to show for their work. In the end, it is people who made their money through illegal trade who are subsidizing the state.”
Reporting from inside North Korea
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June 2, 2026 at 06:58PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)