{"id":214184,"date":"2025-09-10T00:38:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T00:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/214184\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T00:38:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T00:38:14","slug":"soaring-prices-leave-n-koreans-unable-to-prepare-firewood-for-harsh-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/214184\/","title":{"rendered":"Soaring prices leave N. Koreans unable to prepare firewood for harsh winter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"forest\"<\/a>Propaganda slogan in North Pyongan Province calling for people to protect trees. (Daily NK)<\/p>\n

North Koreans are struggling to stockpile firewood for winter heating as prices<\/a> surge beyond most families\u2019 reach. With harsh winters lasting months in border<\/a> regions near China<\/a>, households typically begin winter preparations in September\u2014but this year\u2019s price spikes have made such planning nearly impossible.<\/p>\n

A Daily NK source in North Hamgyong province reported recently that \u201cmost families start gathering firewood for winter in September, but this year, four out of five households can\u2019t even consider preparing firewood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Border region residents usually begin collecting kindling for heating and cooking in late summer<\/a>. They do this both because autumn brings soaring demand that drives up wood and coal prices, and because market-bought fuel is often damp and needs two months of storage to dry properly.<\/p>\n

However, as incomes stagnate while costs skyrocket, families find themselves unable to afford winter preparations even as cold weather approaches.<\/p>\n

Prices triple as incomes stagnate<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThese days, with prices continuing to climb, a cubic meter of firewood costs an average of 350,000 North Korean won,\u201d the source explained. \u201cYou used to get that much for 100,000 won, but prices have tripled.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince costs keep rising while incomes stay flat, nobody can even think about preparing firewood,\u201d the source continued. \u201cWhen two or three days of work<\/a> barely buys a single meal, everyone\u2019s worried about what\u2019s ahead, and just getting by day-to-day has become much harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Put simply, when families can barely afford food<\/a>, stockpiling firewood becomes impossible.<\/p>\n

Food prices have also skyrocketed. Before the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>, 5,000 won could buy one kilogram of rice<\/a> at market<\/a>. Now that same amount buys only 200 grams\u2014a stark illustration of how financial hardship and food shortages have worsened alongside rising prices.<\/p>\n

The crisis extends beyond North Hamgyong province. \u201cAs exchange rates soar, a cubic meter of firewood costs about 370,000 to 400,000 won,\u201d reported a source in Ryanggang province. \u201cWe usually prepare kindling between late summer and early autumn, but this year, you can count on one hand the number of people buying firewood by the cubic meter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf exchange rates keep climbing like this, firewood prices will inevitably rise even more in winter,\u201d the source warned. \u201cThis year, food prices have tripled from normal levels, so people are worried about how they\u2019ll survive both the cold and hunger of winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Families who couldn\u2019t afford cubic meters of firewood previously bought small bundles for 3,000 won. These bundles now cost 6,500 won\u2014more than double the previous price. Even chakhwatan, a cheaper fuel made from coal powder mixed with sawdust, has become unaffordable for many.<\/p>\n

Turning to illegal electricity theft<\/strong><\/p>\n

In response, people are bribing enterprises that receive electricity to illegally siphon power<\/a>. Even pooling money<\/a> for bribes proves challenging, so households often split the costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have money to steal electricity, buying an electric heater to warm your home costs less than preparing firewood,\u201d the Ryanggang province source explained. \u201cSo as more households can\u2019t afford firewood, more people are doing whatever they can to steal electricity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read in Korean<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Propaganda slogan in North Pyongan Province calling for people to protect trees. (Daily NK) North Koreans are struggling…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":214185,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[64,79,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-214184","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115177213381812967","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}