Fruit and vegetables fill North Korea’s markets as prices climb

Prices have doubled even as variety grows

“Compared to before, the variety is much greater, but prices for most items have more than doubled,” the source said. “Looking at the fruit and vegetables on display, it might seem like life has improved, but in reality many people just look at the price tags and walk away.”

The source added that plenty of people still buy at these prices without hesitation, saying the gap in spending power between wealthy and poor North Korean people is now plainly visible in the markets.

That contrast is fueling a sense of relative deprivation among North Korean people, some of whom say the more abundant the markets look, the more starkly the wealth gap stands out.

One Hoeryong resident said that in the past, goods were scarce and expensive enough that buying them felt reserved for special occasions and specific people. Now, the resident said, goods overflow the stalls and many people buy them without a second thought regardless of cost, adding that watching others buy freely while unable to buy for one’s own children makes the reality of having no money feel even harder.

The source said the prevailing view is that as prices continue to climb faster than most people’s purchasing power, the gap between the market’s surface-level abundance and the actual living standards of North Korean people keeps widening.

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