World rices: The rice in North Korea

THE RICE IN NORTH KOREA

North Korean farmers

Introduction about North Korean country and people

North Korea with the officially full name the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea. The Amnok, or Yalu, and the Tumen rivers form the border between North Korea and China. A section of the Tumen River in the far northeast is the border with Russia.

The geography of North Korea

+Location

North Korea occupies the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula, lying between latitudes 37°- 43°N, and longitudes 124° -131°E. It covers an area of 120,540 km² (46,541 sq mi). North Korea shares land borders with China and Russia to the north, and borders South Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. To its west are the Yellow Sea and Korea Bay, and to its east lies Japan across the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea).

+Area

-Total: 120,540 km² (98th) ~46,528 sq mi.

-Water: 4.87%.

+Terrain

About 80% of land area is moderately high mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys and small, cultivated plains. The remainder is lowland plains covering small, scattered areas.

The highest point in North Korea is Paektu-san Mountain at 2,744 m (9,003 ft).

The longest river is the Amnok River which flows for 790 km (491 mi).

+Climate

North Korea has a continental climate with four distinct seasons.

-Long winters bring bitter cold and clear weather interspersed with snow storms as a result of northern and northwestern winds that blow from Siberia. Average snowfall is 37 days during the winter. The weather is likely to be particularly harsh in the northern, mountainous regions.

-Summer tends to be short, hot, humid, and rainy because of the southern and southeastern monsoon winds that bring moist air from the Pacific Ocean. Typhoons affect the peninsula on an average of at least once every summer.

-Spring and autumn are transitional seasons marked by mild temperatures and variable winds and bring the most pleasant weather. Natural hazards include late spring droughts which often are followed by severe flooding. There are occasional typhoons during the early fall.

Most of the country is classified as type Dwa in the Köppen climate classification scheme, with warm summers and cold, dry winters. In summer there is a short rainy season called changma.

+Cities

-Capital: Pyongyang.

-Other cities: Hamhung, Chongjin, Wonsan, Nampo, Sinuiju, and Kaesong.

-Subdivisions: Nine provinces; two province-level municipalities (Pyongyang, Nasun, also known as Najin-Sonbong free trade zone); one special city (Nampo), 24 cities.

The history of North Korea

+The Korean Peninsula

The Korean Peninsula was first populated by peoples of a Tungusic branch of the Ural-Altaic language family, who migrated from the northwestern regions of Asia. Some of these peoples also populated parts of northeast.

Prehistory

Jeulmun period

Mumun period

Gojoseon ?–108 BC

Gojoseon 194 BC–108 BC

Proto–Three Kingdoms 300–57 BC

Buyeo, Goguryeo, Okjeo, Dongye

Jin state, Samhan (Ma, Byeon, Jin)

Four Commanderies of Han

Three Kingdoms 57 BC–668

Goguryeo 37 BC–668

Baekje 18 BC–660

Silla 57 BC–935

Gaya 42–562

North and South States 698–926

Unified Silla 668–935

Balhae 698–926

Later Three Kingdoms 892–936

Taebong, Hubaekje, Silla

Goryeo Dynasty 918–1392

Joseon Dynasty 1392–1897

Korean Empire 1897–1910

Colonial Korea 1910–1945

Provisional Gov't 1919–1948

Division of Korea 1945–present

North, South Korea 1948–present

+Independence and immediate division (1945 -1948)

-Independence: August 15, 1945.
-Korean liberation from Japan (September 9, 1948)-establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K., or North Korea) marking its separation from the Republic of Korea (R.O.K., or South Korea).

-The immediate division: It was divided into Soviet- and American-occupied zones in 1945, after the end of World War II. The surrender of Japan in August 1945 led to the immediate division of Korea into two occupation zones, with the United States administering the area south of the 38th parallel, and the Soviet Union administering the area to the north of the 38th parallel. This division was meant to be temporary until the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and China could arrange a trusteeship administration.

Elections were held in the South under UN observation, and on August 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea (R.O.K.) was established in the South. Syngman Rhee, a nationalist leader, became the Republic's first president.

+The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) appearance

On September 9, 1948, the North established the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K.) headed by then-Premier Kim Il-sung, who had been cultivated and supported by the Soviet Union.

North and South Korea each claimed sovereignty over the whole Korean Peninsula, which led to the Korean War of 1950. The Armistice Agreement of 1953 ended the fighting; but the two countries are officially still at war against each other, for a peace treaty was never signed. Both states were accepted into the United Nations in 1991.

+Government

-Type: Highly centralized communist state.

-Political party: Korean Workers' Party (Communist).

+Membership of the world organizations

North Korea has maintained membership in several multilateral organizations. It became a member of the UN in September 1991. North Korea also belongs to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); the International Civil Aviation Organization; the International Postal Union; the UN Conference on Trade and Development; the International Telecommunications Union; the UN Development Program (UNDP); the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization; the World Health Organization; the World Intellectual Property Organization; the World Meteorological Organization; the International Maritime Organization; the International Committee of the Red Cross; and the Nonaligned Movement. The UN country team (a group of the five UN agencies with a permanent presence in the D.P.R.K.) consists of the UNDP, the World Food Program, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the FAO. The D.P.R.K. is also a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum.

Society of North Korea

+Population

-2011 estimate: 24,051,218 (51st).

-Density: 198.3/km² (~513.8/sq mi).

-2012 estimate: 24.6 million.

-Annual population growth rate: About +0.535%.

North Korea's population of approximatly 24,6 million (2012) is one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogeneous in the world, with very small numbers of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, South Korean, and European expatriate minorities.

+Language: Korean.

+Education: Years compulsory-11. Attendance-3 million (primary, 1.5 million; secondary, 1.2 million; tertiary, 0.3 million). Literacy-99%.

+Health (2012): Medical treatment is free; one doctor for every 304 inhabitants; one hospital bed for every 78; there are severe shortages of medicines and medical equipment. Infant mortality rate = 26.2/1,000. Life expectancy = males 65.3 years, females 73.2 years (2012 est).

+Religion

Korea's traditional religions are Buddhism and Shamanism. Autonomous religious activities have been severely restricted since 1945.

Buddhism, Confucianism, Shamanism, Chongdogyo, and Christianity existed previously and have influenced the country.

Sousce: CIA World Factbook (2012).

The Economy of North Korea

+Before 2000

North Korea has an industrialised, near-autarkic, highly centralized command economy. The Central Planning Committee prepares, supervises and implements economic plans, while a General Bureau of Provincial Industry in each region is responsible for the management of local manufacturing facilities, production, resource allocation and sales.

North Korea's isolation policy means that international trade is highly restricted. North Korea passed a law in 1984 allowing for foreign investment through joint ventures, but failed to attract any significant investment.

In 1991, it established the Rason Economic Special Zone, in an attempt to attract foreign investment from China and Russia. Chinese and Russian companies have purchased rights to use the ports at Rason. Chinese investors are renovating a road from Rason to China, and Russian railway workers are renovating the railway from Rason to Russia, from where it continues onto the Trans-Siberian Railway.

In the 1990s North Korea faced significant economic disruptions, including a series of natural disasters, economic mismanagement and serious resource shortages after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. These resulted in a shortfall of staple grain output of more than 1 million tons from what the country needs to meet internationally accepted minimum dietary requirements. The North Korean famine known as "Arduous March" resulted in the deaths of between 300,000 and 800,000 North Koreans per year during the three year famine, peaking in 1997. The deaths were most likely caused by famine-related illnesses such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, and diarrhea rather than starvation.

Until 1998, the United Nations published HDI and GDP per capita figures for North Korea, which stood at a medium level of human development at 0.766 (ranked 75th) and a GDP per capita of $4,058.

+The period 2000-2010

The average salary was about $47 per month in 2004. The average official salary in 2011 was equivalent to $2 per month while the actual monthly income seems to be around $15 because most North Koreans earn money in illegal small businesses: trade, subsistence farming, and handicrafts. The illegal economy is dominated by women because men have to attend their places of official work even though most of the factories are non-functioning. It is estimated that in the early 2000s, the average North Korean family drew some 80% of its income from small businesses that are legal in market economies but illegal in North Korea.

According to estimates from 2002, the dominant sector in the North Korean economy is industry (43.1%), followed by services (33.6%) and agriculture (23.3%).

In 2004, it was estimated that agriculture employed 37% of the workforce while industry and services employed the remaining 63%. Major industries include military products, machine building, electric power, chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing and tourism. Iron ore and coal production are among the few sectors where North Korea performs significantly better than its southern neighbour – the DPRK produces about 10 times larger amounts of each resource.

In 2005, North Korea was ranked by the FAO as an estimated 10th in the production of fresh fruit and as an estimated 19th in the production of apples. It has substantial natural resources and is the world's 18th largest producer of iron and zinc, having the 22nd largest coal reserves in the world. It is also the 15th largest fluorite producer and 12th largest producer of copper and salt in Asia. Other major natural resources in production include lead, tungsten, graphite, magnesite, gold, pyrites, fluorspar, and hydropower.

In the 21st century, North Korea's GDP growth has been slow but steady, although in recent years, growth has gradually accelerated to 3.7% in 2008, the fastest pace in almost a decade, largely due to a sharp growth of 8.2% in the agricultural sector

GDP Growth by year
2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
1.3%	3.7%	1.2%	1.8%	2.2%	1.0%	1.6%	1.8%	3.7%	3.7%

Recent visitors have reported that the number of open-air farmers' markets has increased in Kaesong and Pyongyang, as well as along the China-North Korea border, bypassing the food rationing system.

The economy of North Korea today

+GDP:

- GDP (2010 est.): $28 billion; 48.2% in industry, 31% in services, 20.8% in agriculture.

- GDP (PPP) 2011 estimate

Total: $45 billion .

Per capita: $2,400

- GDP (nominal) 2011 estimate

Total: $32.7 billion

Per capita GDP, purchasing power parity (2011 est.): $1,800.

- HDI (2011): 0.618 (not rated).

-Agriculture

Products-rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, cattle, pigs, pork, and eggs.

Agriculture was 20.9% of GDP as of 2009, although agricultural output has not recovered to early 1990 levels. The infrastructure is generally poor and outdated, and the energy sector has collapsed.

-Mining and manufacturing

Military products, machine building, electric power, chemicals, mining (coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy, textiles, food processing, tourism.

North Korean industry is operating at only a small fraction of capacity due to lack of fuel, spare parts, and other inputs.

-Trade (2010)

-Exports = $2.557 billion: minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments), textiles, agricultural and fishery products. The D.P.R.K. is also thought to earn hundreds of millions of dollars from the unreported sale of missiles, narcotics, and counterfeit cigarettes and currency, and other illicit activities.

-Imports = $3.529 billion: petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain.

-Major trading partners (2009): (1) China, (2) R.O.K., (3) Singapore, and (4) India.

In most cases, the figures used above are estimates based upon incomplete data and projections.

Agricultural production of North Korea

The following table shows the food supply quantity (tonnes), the food supply quantity (kg/capita/year), the food supply quantity (g/capita/day) and the food supply (kcal/capita/day) in Democractic People’s Republic of Korea on 2007:

Crops	Food supply quantity (tonnes)	Food supply quantity (kg/capita/yr)	Food supply quantity (g/capita/day)	Food supply (kcal/capita/day)
Apples	582,255.00	24.54	67.23	28.24
Barley	44,800.00	1.89	5.17	12.24
Beans	278,028.00	11.72	32.10	109.47
Beer	71,900.00	3.03	8.30	3.57
Beverages, Alcoholic	135,000.00	5.69	15.59	45.98
Cereals, Other	1,437.00	0.06	0.17	0.55
Cocoa Beans	66.04	0.00	0.01	0.01
Coffee	6,442.00	0.27	0.74	0.35
Cottonseed Oil	3,951.00	0.17	0.46	4.03
Fruits, Other	661,500.00	27.88	76.38	31.94
Maize	995,589.00	41.96	114.95	339.60
Maize Germ Oil	22,781.00	0.96	2.63	23.25
Millet	39,650.00	1.67	4.58	11.35
Molasses	100.00	0.00	0.01	0.03
Nuts	13,858.00	0.58	1.60	3.37
Oats	6,964.00	0.29	0.80	1.48
Oilcrops Oil, Other	1,105.00	0.05	0.13	1.13
Onions	79,800.00	3.36	9.21	3.50
Palm Oil	6,000.00	0.25	0.69	6.12
Potatoes	1,282,455.00	54.05	148.08	105.14
Pulses, Other	24.00	0.00	0.00	0.01
Rape and Mustard Oil	16.00	0.00	0.00	0.02
Rice (Milled Equivalent)	1,838,748.03	77.49	212.31	757.25
Rice (Paddy Equivalent)	2,756,743.70	116.18	318.30	757.25
Roots & Tuber Dry Equiv	331,527.00	13.97	38.28	138.46
Rye	40,411.00	1.70	4.67	14.88
Sorghum	24,504.00	1.03	2.83	7.58
Soyabean Oil	86,049.00	3.63	9.94	87.83
Soyabeans	98,700.00	4.16	11.40	42.62
Sugar (Raw Equivalent)	62,603.26	2.64	7.23	25.74
Sugar, Raw Equivalent	62,603.26	2.64	7.23	25.74
Sugar, Refined Equiv	57,595.00	2.43	6.65	25.74
Sunflowerseed Oil	18.00	0.00	0.00	0.02
Sweet Potatoes	288,600.00	12.16	33.32	33.32
Tomatoes	57,893.33	2.44	6.69	1.28
Vegetables, Other	3,200,242.00	134.87	369.51	86.88
Wheat	438,533.54	18.48	50.64	136.61
Alcoholic Beverages + (Total)	206,900.00	8.72	23.89	49.55
Cereals - Excluding Beer + (Total)	3,430,636.57	144.58	396.12	1,281.54
Fruits - Excluding Wine + (Total)	1,243,757.00	52.42	143.61	60.18
Oilcrops + (Total)	98,700.00	4.16	11.40	42.62
Pulses + (Total)	278,052.00	11.72	32.11	109.48
Starchy Roots + (Total)	1,571,055.00	66.21	181.40	138.46
Stimulants + (Total)	6,508.04	0.27	0.75	0.36
Sugar & Sweeteners + (Total)	62,603.26	2.64	7.23	25.76
Treenuts + (Total)	13,858.00	0.58	1.60	3.37
Vegetable Oils + (Total)	119,929.00	5.05	13.85	122.41
Vegetables + (Total)	3,337,935.33	140.68	385.41	91.65
Vegetal Products + (Total)				1,925.38
Grand Total + (Total)				2,087.04

*= Unofficial figure | [ ] = Official data | F = FAO estimate | Fc = Calculated data

Rice production in North Korea

North Korea experienced a severe famine following record floods in the summer of 1995 and continues to suffer from chronic food shortages and malnutrition.

Korean cuisine is largely based upon rice, vegetables, and meats. Traditional Korean meals are noted for the number of side dishes (banchan) that accompany steam-cooked short-grain rice. Kimchi is served often, sometimes at every meal. Commonly used ingredients include sesame oil, doenjang (fermented bean paste), soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes and gochujang (fermented red chili paste).

Grains have been one of the most important staples to the Korean diet. Early myths of the foundations of various kingdoms in Korea center on grains.

During the pre-modern era, grains such as barley and millet were the main staples and were supplemented by wheat, sorghum, and buckwheat.

Rice is not an indigenous crop to Korea, and it is likely millet was the preferred grain before rice was cultivated. Rice became the grain of choice during the Three Kingdoms period, particularly in the kingdoms of Silla and Baekje in the southern regions of the peninsula. Rice was such an important commodity in Silla that it was used to pay taxes. The Sino-Korean word for "tax" is a compound character that uses the character for the rice plant. The preference for rice escalated into the Joseon period, when new methods of cultivation and new varieties emerged that would help increase production.

As rice was prohibitively expensive when it first came to Korea, it is likely the grain was mixed with other grains to "stretch" the rice; this is still done in dishes such as boribap (rice with barley) and kongbap (rice with beans).

Rice is used to make a number of items, outside of the traditional bowl of plain white rice. It is commonly ground into a flour and used to make rice cakes called tteok, of which there are over two hundred varieties. It is also cooked down into a congee (juk), or gruel (mieum) and mixed with other grains, meat, or seafood. Koreans also produce a number of rice wines, both in filtered and unfiltered versions.

Rice yields in North Korea now are about 3-4 tonnes per hectare, about half that in most countries, with soil degradation, lack of fertilisers, and limited mechanisation blamed.

Rice planted in North Korea are all most the tradictional japonica varieties.

The following table shows the area harvested (ha), the yield (kg/ha) and the production (tonnes) of rice in Democractic People’s Republic of Korea from 1961 to 2010:

Year	Area Harvested (Ha)		Yield (Kg/Ha)		Production (tonnes)
1961	420,000	F	4,307.1	Fc	1,809,000	F
1965	480,000	F	3,968.8	Fc	1,905,000	F
1970	530,000	F	4,391.5	Fc	2,327,500	F
1975	625,000	F	4,501.9	Fc	2,813,700	F
1980	650,000	F	4,071.4	Fc	2,646,400	F
1985	645,000		3,276.0	Fc	2,113,000
1990	600,000		3,000.0	Fc	1,800,000
1995	582,000		3,463.9	Fc	2,016,000
2000	535,000		3,158.9	Fc	1,690,000
2001	572,000		3,601.7	Fc	2,060,200
2002	582,857		3,750.5	Fc	2,186,000
2003	584,000		3,842.5	Fc	2,244,000
2004	583,000		4,065.2	Fc	2,370,000
2005	583,400		4,428.2	Fc	2,583,400
2006	583,400		4,248.4	Fc	2,478,500
2007	583,400		3,204.5	Fc	1,869,500
2008	570,390		5,017.6	Fc	2,862,000	*
2009	569,000		4,105.4	Fc	2,336,000
2010	570,000		4,256.1	Fc	2,426,000