U.S.-based aid groups that recently visited North Korea are reporting the alarming food shortage situation there, while the U.S. government is hinting at the possibility of resuming food aid for the hunger-stricken North. It is said that many North Korean people are starving due to the chronic food shortages, which are so severe that the term, “the second arduous march,” has surfaced. During the food crisis in the late 1990s, known by many as the “arduous march” period, hundreds of thousands of North Korean people starved to death. In a major shift from its previous rejection of humanitarian food aid offer by the U.N., North Korea reportedly asked for food assistance last month. It is also reported that Pyongyang instructed overseas missions in countries it has diplomatic ties with, as well as the one in the U.S., to beg the governments of those countries to provide food aid. Dr. Kim Young-yun at the Korea Institute for National Unification says it is a very rare occasion for North Korea to directly request foreign governments to assist it with food, which is indicative of the acute food shortages in the reclusive North.

North Korea seems very active in securing food. It has been appealing to foreign countries and private groups all around the world for food aid. For North Korea, it is crucial to ease the current food shortages, especially at a time when it should stabilize the power transition to heir-apparent Kim Jong-un. During the later years of Japan’s colonial rule of Korea, many Koreans led miserable lives with the aid of herb roots and tree barks. While the situation in Pyongyang isn’t that serious, local provinces in North Korea seem to be suffering from similar troubles. This past winter was unusually cold and long, and I think many North Koreans were frozen or starved to death.

A team of seven experts from U.S.-based nongovernment aid agencies, including World Vision, conducted a survey on the food situation in North Korea from February 8 through 15 at the request of Pyongyang. The team visited 45 sites, including hospitals, nursery schools and homes in North and South Pyongan provinces and Jagang province. In a joint statement, the experts said they had witnessed local people searching for food and those suffering from malnutrition, quoting North Korean authorities as estimating that food stocks will be exhausted by June. The World Food Program under the U.N. also warns that North Korean citizens will struggle with starvation this year because crop production in the nation was reduced due to the bad weather late last year. So, what are the main reasons behind the chronic food shortages in North Korea?

There are direct and indirect factors. The lack of fertilizer is one of the direct causes. If North Korea manages to secure sufficient fertilizer, crop yields, including corn, will increase significantly. Also, few farmers have the motivation to work hard because they can receive only a limited amount of food no matter how hard they work at collective farms. Due to the insufficient yields of food, farmers pick corn even before it is fully grown, resulting in a decline in overall corn production. The same goes for potatoes and sweet potatoes.

In the meantime, a top U.S. diplomat says Washington is separating humanitarian aid from political issues, hinting at the possibility of resuming food aid for North Korea. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 1, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth said that sending food to the North could be possible if the distribution was closely monitored, adding that he thinks food aid is the right thing to do if the U.S. can make sure the food will reach children and facilities that most need it. He also said the U.S. is now assessing the need for assistance and is considering holding dialogue with North Korea to discuss ways to monitor the transparent distribution of food. The South Korean government, too, considers North Korean sincerity a precondition for resuming food aid.

The South Korean government has suspended food assistance for North Korea since 2008. Although the government is well aware of the difficult situation in North Korea, it insists on inter-Korean dialogue first. For dialogue, Seoul demands a sincere apology from Pyongyang for its military provocations against the South last year and a promise to prevent any recurrence of similar incidents. Furthermore, South Korea says food aid will be possible only when North Korea demonstrates a commitment to denuclearization.

Some experts predict that North Korea may propose dialogue with Seoul in March or April, with the spring lean season and the sowing season drawing nearer, in an effort to receive fertilizer and medicines for foot-and-mouth disease from the South Korean government. Dr. Kim says both South and North Korea need to take a forward-looking attitude.

To resume humanitarian aid for North Korea, the South Korean government must improve relations with North Korea and the public sentiment toward the communist neighbor as well, since it’s important to elicit public consensus on this matter. North Korea, for its part, should change its attitude. It needs to take the necessary measures to allow international organizations, not necessarily South Korean authorities, to secure transparency in the distribution of food aid to the North. To better appeal to South Korea, Pyongyang also needs to demonstrate its sincerity for the nuclear issue at the international level, through the six-party talks.

The international community is hoping to ensure that food assistance will be distributed to the starving North Korean people in a transparent manner. We anticipate a change from North Korean authorities so North Korean citizens can benefit from international food aid.



[Interview] Defector Earns Degree through Credit Bank System to Become Hairdresser A special graduation ceremony took place last month at the Seoul Education and Culture Center in Yangjae-dong, southern Seoul. It was a ceremony awarding degrees to those who accomplished their dream of studying late in life through the credit bank system and the bachelor’s degree exam for self education. As part of lifelong education efforts, these two systems are designed to recognize various types of learning outside of school as official credits. Kim Myung-hee, the only North Korean defector among the 2,700 participants of the ceremony, says she was surprised by the graduation ceremony, which was completely different from similar ceremonies in North Korea.

I was surprised to see all the family members, relatives and friends congratulating the graduates and sharing joy with one another at the commencement. This is completely different from what I experienced in North Korea. People here looked really happy to enjoy the graduation ceremony. I felt lonely because I came alone. But my teacher at the learning institute bought me flowers and congratulated me, which was some consolation to me.

Ms. Kim majored in fashion design in North Korea. Upon resettling in South Korea in 2003, she entered a vocational school in Daegu to learn hairstyling. Her abilities garnered due recognition, as she received prizes at various competitions. But she thought she would need more systematic education. So she started studying hair art in 2007 through the credit bank system.

I was interested in hairstyling from my childhood. When I learned how to treat hair at first, I didn’t really expect to do up other people’s hair. I simply thought I would be happy to use the skill to cut my own family members’ hair. While studying, however, I found myself wanting more. I obtained a hairdresser’s certificate. But I didn’t have enough time to study at a professional institute. I had to work and study at the same time, so I chose the credit bank system.

Kim worked at a beauty shop during the day and attended classes at night. Through a two-year training course, she systematically mastered basic subjects, such as an introduction to beauty art, and later applied to hair art, including services like scalp treatments. She was amazed by the credit bank system’s diversified curriculum, which included skin care and lectures on makeup as well as hairstyling studies. Unlike in North Korea, people here can express their individuality as they fix up their hair and apply makeup as they wish. At first, this was rather unfamiliar to Kim.

Things are very different in North Korea. Hairdressers there show little interest in arranging customers’ hair beautifully but simply cut or perm their hair. North Korea sets certain standards governing hairstyles, so individuals are not allowed to dress their hair as they want. North Korean people are not free to express individuality when putting on makeup, either. Definitely not. They should strictly follow the given instructions.

Kim obtained more than just a degree from the credit bank system. Her beauty shop director showed great consideration, allowing Kim to keep up with her studies, while her classmates greatly helped her adjust to a new South Korean life. Thanks to their warm support, Kim grew more cheerful and positive. She hopes to return what she has received by helping out other people around her.

I hope to share many things with neighbors in need, rather than pursue my own happiness. It would be nice to give them financial help, but if I can’t, I’d like to help them with my skills at least and share happiness with them. It would be rewarding if I’m warmly welcomed and if my skills give them strength, even if in just a small way. In this way, I hope to enjoy my life as a hair stylist.

Kim is nurturing her dream, never feeling discouraged by an unfamiliar South Korean environment or her difficult living conditions. Her steady efforts will surely bear fruit in the near future.