Rimjin-gang - Report, Column and Survey

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	Larger Image	TOTAL495 Pages containing more than 180 photos(B&W) SIZE: 9.1X6.1X1 inch ISBN 978-4-904399-05-7 ASIAPRESS Publishing

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Rimjin-gang: The first-ever independent publication in the world reported directly by people of North Korea. Compiled by ASIAPRESS International. [Release Note]

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	Rimjin-gang - Report, Column and Survey

Rimjin-gang - Report, Column and Survey

		[NEW] Kim Jong-un’s Reputation Suffers as It Becomes Harder to Make Ends Meet Putting on a Show to Enhance Authority with the Military Writing the Script Has the Side Effect of Leaving a Bad Impression on the Global Community When the people evaluate a statesman, which criteria is most important? That would naturally be, ...(by ISHIMARU Jiro)

		[NEW] To Be Honest, the People of North Korea Couldn’t Care Less Rumours that “One Rocket Launch is Worth Three Years of Food” --- Kim Jong-un’s Reputation Remains Poor On the evening of February 12th, after Kim Jong-un forcibly went forward with his nuclear test, I managed to get through by telephone to our reporting partner...(by ISHIMARU Jiro)

		Mass Starvations Occurring in the Breadbasket [pdf] Report on the Famine in the Hwanghae Provinces and the Food Situation 2012 We have compiled an emergency report for international organizations, humanitarian relief organizations and media. This is with hopes that you will be able to utilize this report, and that international organizations will express interest...(Rimjin-gang - ASIAPRESS North Korea Reporting Team)

"I Want to Keep Reporting Till the Moment I Die"
Message from Gu Gwang-ho, Reporter [Rimjin-gang]
The people of North Korea cannot see, nor can they hear. They do not really know what is going on in the rest of the world, or how it functions. I hope that many people all over the world can offer their cooperation so North Korea can head towards ... (by Gu Gwang-ho)

		[Rimjin-gang PDF Archive] Report on Starving Korean People's Army - Why is the Korean People's Army starving? Digital and IT Conditions in North Korea - Prospects for digital and IT consumption to change North Korean society The Domestic Attitudes towards the Nuclear Test, 2006 - “Dear General Has Hidden All”

		<North Korea Crisis> Why is there a Food Shortage Crisis in the Breadbasket Region of Hwanghae? (PART3) Farming Villages’ Crops Taken by the Government *The Food Shortage is a Man-made Disaster* Let us continue the analysis of the causes of the food shortage in Hwanghae from last time. The reason people are starving to death in farming villages is a result of seizures by the government ... (by LEE Jin-su)

		<North Korea Crisis> Why is there a Food Shortage Crisis in the Breadbasket Region of Hwanghae? (PART2) Farming Villages’ Crops Taken by the Government *How Farmers’ Crops are Taken* There are multiple causes of the current food shortage crisis in North Korea’s only breadbasket region. Of particular importance is the crisis in the farming villages. Why are people starving to death in... (by LEE Jin-su)

		<North Korea Crisis> Why is there a Food Shortage Crisis in the Breadbasket Region of Hwanghae? (PART1) Possible reasons other than a simple food shortage Farmers are starving to death: an interview with a local resident Now, in southwestern North Korea, residents of the Hwanghae region are having great difficulties obtaining food. To summarize accounts of numerous interviewers inside the country... (by LEE Jin-su)

		Discontent Over Special Rations and Criticism Towards Wasted Expenditures on the Launch Festivities marking the 100 year anniversary of Kim Il-sung’s birth were held on April 15 all around North Korea. However, discontent was expressed towards the meager contents of the “special rations” that were distributed by the government in coordination with the event. ... (by ISHIMARU Jiro)

		[Feature] Citizen journalists work undercover in North Korea to show daily life [interview + video] (external link) Investigative Reporting Workshop(American University School of Communication) introduces Rimjin-gang[ASIAPRESS] activities on North Korea. Sotries with interview and video...

		Cold Response from Residents to Chairman Kim Jong-il’s Death ? Steep Jump in Food Prices " (We) don’t care that he died.” - A markedly difference response than that at Kim Il-Sung’s death in 1994. Sources from inside North Korea report that residents of North Korea reacted coldly to the news of Kim Jong-il’s death. It was also reported that markets were...(by ISHIMARu Jiro, Choi Gyon-ok )

<Photo Report 5> Malnutrition Rampant Among The People’s Army
In a small square near the market, a group of around ten young men, all soldiers, are sitting; all look seriously debilitated. Their cheeks are sunken; arms, legs and trunk shapes are obviously skinny which can be easily recognized even while wearing their military uniforms...(by LEE Jin-su)

<Photo Report 4> Inspection At The Metro Station Entrance(Pyongyang)
Soldiers standing at the entrance checkpoint are the military police of the People’s Army. Whenever they find a person with a shabby appearance, wearing a backpack or carrying a large piece of luggage, they stop them at the entrance of the station to prevent them... (by Gu Gwang-ho)

<Photo Report 3> Widening Gaps (Pyongyang)
Our country’s TV news often shows a gap between the rich and the poor in the capitalist countries, lashing out with militant slogans, and always ends up in defending the superiority of socialism.But the scenes that I witness in every day life are nothing more than a gap or a disparity in the society. ...(by Gu Gwang-ho)

		<Photo Report 2> Unauthorized Street Vendors (Pyongyang) People have become used to chronic delays of, or a cessation of, food rations. This has become routine for many years under the harsh economic situation. Even the most favored citizens in our country, the residents of Pyongyang, suffer the denial of rations and wages. ...(by Gu Gwang-ho)

<Photo Repor 1> The Moran Market (Pyongyang)
I am from Pyongyang. Every year, a large number of foreigners visit this city for business and sightseeing. Are they allowed to see all parts of Pyongyang? No, it’s impossible for them. Places where they are allowed to go are restricted to only a part of the city which is well-decorated by the state... (2011/Oct/16 by Gu Gwang-ho)

		Exemplary-contributors Praised At The Public Notice-board A market is one of the best places that the government can collect food effectively. However, forcible collection triggers the people's anger. People are ready for themselves to fight against anything to protect their own source of life to survive in this country..... (2011/Sep/19 by Kim Dong-cheol)

The Government Launches Massive Campaign of Seizing Rice For The Military
In North Korea, there is a business called “Tegori”.
Merchants go to farmers’ villages and purchase rice, corn, fruit and vegetables. This will be sold to retail sellers in the market. That is to say, these are a primitive wholesale trader or a broker. .... (2011/Sep/10 by Kim Dong-cheol)

The Testimony of a Starving Soldier: “Half of us are malnourished”
In March, I visited an area in North Pyongan Province. I spoke to two young soldiers. Their lapel pins show they belong to a cadet troop. North Korea has a conscription system. Some go to military college while they maintain their position in their original troop and its graduates become enlisted officers...(2011/Aug/29 by Kim Dong-cheol)

"Unemployment" Increases While The State Growls Socialism This February, I visited a coal-mining town in North-Pyongan Province. It was a cloudy, bitter winter’s day. I met two men there. They were wandering in rags, looking for work. Both had lost their home and were living on the streets. These homeless people are called ‘kotchebi’. (2011/Aug/21 by Kim Dong-cheol)

		Periodic Survey * Price List (2011/June 8 - 14) at markets * Regional Brief Notes -- Mobile phone crackdowns -- Dysfunctional rationing system at state-run institutions -- Inspection campaigns (2011/June)

		North Korea Food Shortage: Not a matter of absolute shortage, a matter of distribution and access North Korea’s economic status is at its worst since the mass starvation of the late 90’s. North Korea is now in the ‘Bori-koge’ period. Bori-koge is the season of food shortages which comes... (Periodic Report 2011/Jun/20 by ISHIMARU Jiro)

		Hyperinflation and Worsening Food Supplies to The Troops Starting with Kim Dong-cheol, there are currently 8 North Korean reporters or collaborators working with the Rimjin-gang editorial staff to report undercover inside the country.They take video and talk with locals, reporting their findings several times a week via telephone and other means of communication. (Periodic Report 2011-Feb-09)

A 23 year-old homeless woman found dead
This 23 year-old homeless woman was found dead in a corn field in October, 2010. She died of starvation. Reporter Kim Dong-cheol tells us that “the number of homeless and suicides have greatly increased since the 2009 currency reform.” This video was taken in June 2010 ...
(2011/Feb/05 by ISHIMARU Jiro)

Official Decree - Redenomination - Currency Exchange
In December 2009, an official decree was announced “On Severely Punishing Those who Use Foreign Currency.”
This shows how the credibility of the won has plummeted,leading to the people taking action to seek foreign currency. Kim Dong-cheol took this photograph of an official decree posted on the street in January 2010.

Chang Jeong-gil on Pyongyang’s Kangdong County
In the spring of 2008, the Rimjin-gang editorial staff asked our North Korean reporters to cover the daily lives of the people, especially regarding the food situation. (2008/Sep).

North Korean Reporter, LEE Jun story
Many North Korean refugees live in hiding in the Chinese border city of Yanbian. In August, 2002, LEE Jun, one of these refugees, came across the Japanese journalist ISHIMARU Jiro. Lee spoke on camera for the first time, frankly describing his reasons for escaping North Korea. (2008)


		Column - Voices from inside North Korea (ISHIMARU Jiro) Among East Asian countries, only the people of North Korea have been left behind and deprived of freedom and prosperity. Why? Because the North Korean society is suffering from a kind of illness for which no doctor is able to give a clear diagnosis. The illness is so serious that the best doctors are not sure what is causing it and what treatment should be provided...

* Editor's notes on North Korean reporters