Fury over currency reform simmers
By Kim Young-jin
Lingering discontent among North Koreans nearly two years after the Stalinist state’s bungled currency reform is dealing a blow to its campaign to become "prosperous" by next year, according to recent testimony from some of its citizens.
From among ten interviews of North Koreans gathered in the border region with China, recently published in an English-language book by Seoul-based online publication Daily NK, most respondents expressed frustration over the measure.
This appears to go hand-in-hand with skepticism over the regime’s promise to become "strong and prosperous" by 2012, when it will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the nation’s founder Kim Il-sung.
“Speaking frankly, before the currency redenomination I was grateful to the state,” said one interviewee indentified as Im. “However, afterwards I started to really dislike them. I lost a lot of money. When I think about it, my blood boils.”
The regime is believed to be making an all out push in the run-up to the event, including appealing for outside aid and mobilizing massive renovation efforts in Pyongyang. Analysts say whether it can convince its people of prosperity will have bearing as it passes power from the leader Kim Jong-il to his youngest son, Jong-un.
It is widely believed that such needs are behind the North’s diplomatic push to resume the multilateral denuclearization-for-aid talks it walked out of in 2009 after being sanctioned for missile and nuclear tests. Pyongyang has held multiple meetings with Seoul and Washington to revive the talks.
The rise of informal markets in the North has increased the flow of traders and other North Koreans across the Chinese border.
In a move to squelch a bourgeoning private sector, the Nov. 30, 2009 reform denominated banknotes at a ratio of 100:1. Households could exchange their money _ but only for a limited time and up to a sum of 100,000 won, wiping out much of the market-accrued wealth. It skidded into disaster as inflation soared and state-run stores were unable to meet demand.
“Before the currency redenomination, we believed in (the 2012 campaign),” a farmer from Jilin Province said. “After it, cadres started coming out and saying in lecture meetings that the ‘strong and prosperous state’ is coming. People don’t believe it though, they just laugh.”
Amid ongoing economic and food woes, Pyongyang has since reportedly lifted restrictions on market activity. Despite their frustration, the interviewees said it was impossible to express themselves for fear of reprisal from authorities, including imprisonment in the North’s reportedly brutal political prisoner system.
The North Korean economy has struggled heavily since the 1990s, hit hard by international isolation, economic mismanagement and natural disaster.
As a result of growing hardship, the interviewees said social ills such as depression, suicide and drug use are on the rise. They said heroin is used for to relieve pain as medical services are lacking in the impoverished state.
Such testimony has intensified the debate over the durability of the regime. While many say such conditions could speed its collapse, others point to technological improvements as well as growing wealth in urban areas as signs of staying power.
Despite the interviewees views on the succession and currency reform, one said he had more urgent things on his mind. “All I think about is survival,” he said. “Nothing else.”