Nothing to Envy

This chapter details the end of North Korea’s economic stability in the 1990s. As the economy fails and electricity stops, Mrs. Song has to fetch water from a well before beginning an hour-long walk to work. The factory she works in relies on electricity, so its employees soon begin scavenging for food rather than sewing garments—if they show up at all. Eventually, her employer suggests she stop coming and begin to work on the black market. The government’s collective farms have ceased to operate without electricity, leading to a food shortage and the end of most rations—a food shortage that the government will scarcely acknowledge. Hence, black markets swell. As periodic imininbanjang, head of her neighborhood surveillance group, Mrs. Song is tasked with reporting neighbors who complain about food shortages, a task she is hesitant to perform as she tries to find a way for her own family to eat. To survive, Dr. Kim Ji-eun, a young medical resident, travels long distances to orchards to search for fruit. Both women have worked hard all their lives, and must work harder still to feed themselves and their families.