Farmers struggle to collect payment for livestock
The picturesque countryside belies the plight of farmers (Image: iStock/znm)
As the world rapidly changes to adapt to AI, farmers in North Korea remain far removed from the new era, struggling instead to collect payment for pigs they provided on credit.
Every year during the rice-planting season, it has long been a practice for farms to serve pork and dog meat to the volunteers from city and county factories who come to help with agricultural work.
This year, however, many farmers have still not been paid for the meat they provided last spring. Some are now visiting farm officials daily to demand repayment.
For example, sources tell us of a farmer named Park who supplied a 60kg pig this spring to the farm in Ryongsan-ri, Kyongsong County, North Hamgyong Province. He has been asking farm officials to repay him in corn or rice since last month, but has received nothing.
Officials keep shifting responsibility, telling him to “go to the Party secretary” or “go to the manager.”
Pigs are a significant asset for farmers. While urban residents, restricted by government crackdowns, cannot raise pigs in apartments but are able to survive through market trading, street vending, or their workplaces, people in the countryside have few opportunities to earn money. Raising pigs is therefore crucial.
But not every farmer is able to do it. One reason is the shortage of feed. Another is the widespread problem of theft. Also, farmers are forced to supply pigs to the military, either at low prices or on credit. Of these various issues, unpaid credit is the most serious.
For example, a farmer surnamed Choi in Hyanggyo-ri, Jaeryong County, South Hwanghae Province, gave a 70kg pig on credit to a local military unit two years ago and has still not been paid.
Another farmer, Kim in Sukchon County, South Pyongan Province, provided a pig she had carefully raised for a year to a local farm on credit last spring, but has yet to receive payment. Kim lost her husband six years ago and is raising two daughters alone. The farm officials know her situation well but still refuse to pay. As a result, she has been visiting the farm management committee every few days to demand repayment, but the officials avoid her.
The farmers’ plight shows how the once honored class is now treated as a neglected group outside the concern of authorities. Such disregard could have serious consequences for future regime stability.
Sewon is the North Korean-born founder and CEO of NK Times, a Seoul-based Korean-language online news outlet focused on North Korean affairs. Drawing on his personal experience living in the country, he strives for transparency and accuracy in reporting, working to inform the public about the realities of North Korea.
Latest posts by Kim Se-won (see all)
- As North Koreans face economic hardship, Kim opts for further repression - November 22, 2025
- Farmers struggle to collect payment for livestock - November 20, 2025
- Kim Ju-ae: successor or beloved daughter? - October 28, 2025