Tuesday, October 21, 2008

North Korea Today No. 231

RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR NORTH KOREAN SOCIETY
http://www.goodfriends.or.kr/eng
No. 231 October 2008

“Having an athletic meet is a waste of food”
Inspection on education system in North Hamgyong Province
Kindergarten Children's Homework, Bringing Fifty Corns with the Cob To school
Children of Kangan Kindergarten with Food Poison
The Homeless Died from Eating Dead Dog
Every school is Busy with Supporting Farm



“Having an athletic meet is a waste of food”
On last September 24th, a kindergarten of Chungarm district, Chungjin city, North Hamgyoung Province has a fall athletic meet (운동회). Because parents were busy with farming, teachers took children to the mountain and enjoy the picnic as well as the simple athletic meet. However, this event was reported to the city education department and the director of the kindergarten and four teachers were dismissed and also dispatched to a collective farm. The teachers asked for favor but the education department punished them strictly saying, “Not teaching children but having athletic meet is a waste of food.” In the mean time, the athletic meet is considered as a political agitation, it should be ratified by the senior party.

Inspection on education system in North Hamgyong Province

On October 1st, the party of North Hamgyong Province started inspection on education system of the province. Each school collected money from students to lobby inspectors but it caused a problem. Schools say that faling in feasting inspectors give me hard times so we cannot neglect it. However, parents complain that “why do we have to take the burden? If the party does not send inspectors to make schools better, then do not dispatch them.”

Kindergarten Children's Homework, Bringing Fifty Corns with the Cob To school
A Kindergarten in Sariwon of North Hwanghae Province gave students homework of bringing 50 corns with the cob and it provoked criticism of parents. Kim Soon-boon (age 31) said, “Being parents is not a fault. Why do schools ask for things all the time? It asked fifty corns with the cob this time. When we do not have a piece of rice to eat, how can they ask about fifty corns with the cob? Junior high schools also asked for 20 corns with the cob for each student. Mothers say that they are not sending children to the school. Even five corns are too much for kindergarten children. Fifty corns do not make sense at all.” Some parents rant to the kindergarten and shouted and cursed to the teachers.

Children of Kangan Kindergarten with Food Poison
On September 25th, children of Kangan kindergarten in Soonchun city, South Pyoungan Province were poisoned with food. On that day, only soup was provided to the children but weaker children started loosing bowels with vomit therefore saw a doctor. Doctors who checked children said the food poison might be from soup which went bad. As soon as it finds out that the children had food poison, the director of the kindergarten called workers in close area and made them carry children to the hospital and all the children were hospitalized. Twenty-third out of thirty children were proved as poisoned by food and two of them died in a day. The teacher who made the soup was dismissed right away.

The Homeless Died from Eating Dead Dog
On September 28th, the homeless (Kkotjebis) in Wonsan city of Kangwon Province ate dead dog with boiling it and died after. A group of five homeless ate a dog dead with rat poison and suffered from stomach ache and died. When the boys crying for help, nobody helped them. The corpses of the children were buried in an empty lot of the outskirts on the next day.

Every school is Busy with Supporting Farm
Every school is becoming busier as the farm- mobilization period of fall comes. Including the medical school of Chungjin city, North Hamgyong Province, other colleges and junior high schools collected 2,000 NK won from every student to cover the bus fee. Students of teacher's college and engineering college in Hyesan city, Ryanggang Province were mobilized to pick up potatoes at farms in Baekarm and Samjiyeon. Students cannot go back to their place until they meet the assigned quota.

Prices in Sinuiju Market (2022)

Feb. 1, 2022 Feb. 14, 2022 Feb. 21, 2022 Mar. 3, 2022 Mar. 15, 2022 Apr. 14, 2022 May 06, 2022 100 USD  495,000 560,000 665,000 720,000 675,...