A 5-year-old child in Hamhung, South Hamgyong province, died in late August after collapsing while left alone at home without a guardian. The parents discovered the child when they returned home and rushed him to the hospital, but he died two days later.
A source in the province told The Daily NK that the child’s grandmother took care of him until July, when she was bedridden with an illness and he came to live with his parents. However, the child was always left home alone because his father had to go to work every day and his mother had to earn a living at the market.
With no one to take care of the child, the parents should have sent him to a kindergarten. But they did not have the money, so they had no choice but to leave him at home alone.
This incident illustrates the reality for many North Korean parents who can’t send their children to kindergarten.
“Parents who are busy putting food on the table can’t pay enough attention to their children,” the source said. “The parents of the 5-year-old who died were too busy making a living to properly check on their child’s health.”
In fact, doctors at the hospital – who diagnosed the child with meningitis – said he was beyond hope because the window for treatment had passed.
The child’s death deeply affected the community, with neighbors expressing sorrow and seeing the tragedy as symptomatic of broader societal issues. Many saw it as a reflection of the hardships faced by children of poor parents in an impoverished country where parents struggle to make ends meet at the expense of child care, the source said.
The incident has sparked public discontent, with people criticizing the gap between state propaganda encouraging childbirth and the harsh realities faced by parents.
In fact, many young people are refusing to have children, and there is growing skepticism about the government’s childcare policies, which are seen as detached from the real struggles of families who can’t provide for their children.
The Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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September 11, 2024 at 07:00AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)