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My COVID experience in North Korea (Part 1)

Kim Yumi
North Korean fishermen (Still: Korea Central TV)

Growing up in Haeju, in a coastal military area in North Korea’s South Hwanghae Province, Kim Yumi was able to secretly watch South Korean news programs and TV shows. This experience exposed her to the vibrant, democratic society across the DMZ. Yumi and her husband made the brave decision to escape there in May 2023. Now in Seoul, she is actively involved in raising awareness about the realities of life in her home country, especially on her YouTube channel, “@KimYumiTV.”

The following is a transcript of Part 1 of a series that documents her personal experience with COVID-19 inside North Korea. Some portions have been edited for clarity.

Many people have asked me how North Korea dealt with the global COVID-19 pandemic. I would like to share my personal experience.

When COVID-19 swept across the world, North Korea was unable to avoid it. The authorities treated it not simply as a public health crisis, but as a grave national security threat. 

In January 2020, the country abruptly sealed its borders and territorial waters. As this dragged on and as trade with China plummeted, people’s livelihoods took a serious blow. Already-strict market regulations became even harsher, making life that much harder.

Through neighborhood watch units, workplaces, schools, and state-run TV, the government pushed the line that while countless people were dying of COVID abroad, not a single confirmed case had occurred in “our country where the General leads us.”

The reality was different. Despite official denials that there were any cases at all, by around April 2022 people had begun falling ill. At first, we didn’t realize it was COVID. Then, as suspicions grew, no one dared call it by its name. The state’s propaganda claimed that our nation was too great for the virus to enter, so admitting its presence was tantamount to challenging the system itself.

COVID is said to have begun in Pyongyang. On April 25, 2022, during the military foundation day celebrations, soldiers were bussed into the capital for a parade. The virus spread there and people took it home with them to the provinces and it spread across the country.

The authorities bizarrely claimed that the disease had entered via contaminated waste sent by sea from South Korea. We were forbidden to even touch seawater. They said the virus was coming in from the ocean. But once the elite Unit 8 resumed fishing, people in our area began harbouring suspicions. If the virus is supposedly coming from the sea, why allow fishing at all?

Later instructions shifted and suddenly they claimed seawater could kill the virus. But for those of us living on the coast, this was hard to believe. If seawater was a disinfectant, even if the virus was supposedly sent from the South by sea, wouldn’t the saltwater have neutralized any germs in the first place?

Among close friends, we would say, “They say the virus is coming from the sea and they forbid people from going near it, but then they can catch and eat all the fish they want?”

I should explain that Unit 8 is a special organization tasked with catching seafood for the Kim family and senior Party officials. While no other boats were allowed out, the unit’s vessels were exempt. 

Since the Kim family and senior Party officials promoted such propaganda while they ate all the seafood they wanted, people living in the city could have believed the propaganda, but coastal residents had a hard time believing it.

Anyways the official story was that a frontline soldier had found contaminated waste washed in from the South, containing the COVID virus. He then traveled to Pyongyang for the military parade and spread the virus to soldiers from every province. It was absurd propaganda.

Another rumor that spread in my area was that South Korea had locked up COVID patients on the islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong. Supposedly, deaths from COVID were so high in the South that there was not enough space to bury the dead. They apparently threw the bodies into the sea, and thus the authorities in the North limit access to the sea all the way along the coast.

The authorities stationed soldiers along every stretch of coastline, blocking access to the water and ordering them to collect and dispose of waste. They claimed South Korea was deliberately sending floating debris laced with the virus. Soldiers patrolled the beaches all day, dousing trash with oil and burning it.

At times, it was hard to tell whether these soldiers were guarding the country or just collecting garbage. Looking back, it’s clear they were feeding people blatant lies.

The strangest part was how soldiers got up before dawn, scrambled to pick up this so-called contaminated waste before anyone else. This was because they could sell the waste for cash. 

So, that’s what I personally experienced just two years ago. I hope this gives you some sense of how North Korea handled COVID and why such nonsensical propaganda spread.

The COVID story will continue in the next installment, so stay tuned.Hello. Today, I want to share my personal experience with COVID-19 in North Korea, since many people have wondered how the country dealt with a pandemic that had such a massive global impact.

When COVID-19 swept across the world, North Korea was no exception. The authorities treated it not simply as a public health crisis, but as a grave national security threat. 

In January 2020, North Korea abruptly sealed its borders and territorial waters. With the border closure dragging on and trade with China plummeting, people’s livelihoods took a serious blow. Already-strict market regulations became even harsher, making life that much harder.

Through neighborhood watch units, workplaces, schools, and state-run TV, the government pushed the line that while countless people were dying of COVID abroad, not a single confirmed case had occurred in “our country where the General leads us.”

The reality, however, was different. Although North Korea officially denied any cases, by around April 2022 people began falling ill with what was clearly COVID.

At first, we didn’t even realize it was COVID. As suspicions grew, no one dared to call it by name. The state’s propaganda claimed that our nation was too great for the virus to enter, so admitting its presence could be seen as challenging the system itself.

COVID is said to have begun in Pyongyang. On April 25, 2022, during the military foundation day celebrations, huge crowds were brought into the capital for a military parade. The virus spread there, and those who had come from other provinces took it home with them, carrying it across the country.

The authorities claimed—bizarrely—that COVID entered North Korea from South Korea through “contaminated waste” sent via the sea.

In my area, few people believed this. At one point, they wouldn’t even let us touch seawater, saying the virus was coming in from the ocean. But once “Unit 8” resumed fishing, rumors spread that seawater actually acted as a disinfectant.

They mixed disinfectant with seawater for sanitation purposes, but initially, we weren’t allowed near the shore at all. People weren’t even allowed to approach the coast—until Unit 8 started fishing again. That’s when people began asking questions: If the virus is supposedly coming from the sea, why allow fishing at all?

The story shifted—suddenly seawater was said to disinfect the virus. But for those of us living on the coast, this was hard to swallow. If seawater could disinfect, wouldn’t it neutralize any virus supposedly sent from the South in the first place?

Among close friends, we would say: “If the virus is coming from the sea, why can’t we go near it—but they can catch and eat all the fish they want?”

Unit 8 is a special fleet tasked with catching seafood for the Kim family and senior Party officials. While no other boats were allowed out, Unit 8’s vessels were exempt. People living inland might have believed the propaganda, but coastal residents could see right through it.

The official story went like this: a frontline soldier found contaminated waste washed in from the South, containing the COVID virus. He then traveled to Pyongyang for the military parade and spread “the South Korean virus” to soldiers from every province. It was absurd propaganda.

Another rumor that spread in my area was that South Korea had quarantined COVID patients on the islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong. Supposedly, because the South had too many bodies to bury, they threw them into the sea.

The authorities stationed soldiers along every stretch of coastline, blocking access to the water and ordering them to collect and dispose of “waste” from the South. They claimed South Korea was deliberately sending floating debris laced with the virus. Soldiers patrolled the beaches all day, dousing trash with oil and burning it.

At times, it was hard to tell whether these soldiers were guarding the country or just collecting garbage. Looking back, it’s clear they were feeding people blatant lies.

The strangest part was how soldiers would scramble to pick up this so-called “contaminated waste” before anyone else—because it could be sold for money. The trash was valuable, and they would get up before dawn to claim it.

So, that’s what I personally experienced just two years ago. I hope this gives you some sense of how North Korea handled COVID—and why such nonsensical propaganda spread.

If you’re curious about what “Unit 8” is, I’ve posted a separate video explaining it.

The story of COVID in North Korea will continue in the next installment, so stay tuned.

Kim Yumi
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