Sunday, June 04, 2006

North Korean Food Situation

A 62-year-old North Korean, Lee Young Sung (pseudonym) who was in Dandong to visit a relative in China said, “It is better for me now that I found my older brother [in China]. People living in my village must go to mountains to dig for edible plants [in order to survive].”

"March and April, called the ‘Barley Period' (Borigogae) is the worst period of farming difficulties, before it is time for the crops and edible plants to be harvested. [If these] run out, North Koreans must prolong their lives by eating grass or wild plants.

"However, because of the starvation in the mid 90’s, which resulted in indiscriminate reclamation, even wild plants like bracken are not easily found now."

[Excerpt of article by Kwon Jeong Hyun, Dandong of China]

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