◆ Wildfires Carry a 10-Million-Won Fine — or Prison
For North Koreans, retreating into the mountains as slash-and-burn farmers is a survival strategy. For the state, it is desertion from the workplace and from organized social structures. The Hyesan City Korean Workers' Party Committee has reportedly launched a crackdown on hwajeonmin.
"On May 16, at a Women's League study session and saenghwal chonghwa [self-criticism meeting], people were warned that entering the mountains due to hardship or unlawfully clearing forest land would be punishable. Causing a wildfire or landslide carries a fine of 10 million won; in serious cases, the punishment is kyohwa [a prison labor sentence].
The Party Committee's directive has also been passed down through all organizations: identify and bring under control anyone living in the mountains without fulfilling their organizational obligations. The Women's League is requiring members to form groups of five to monitor each other and ensure no one drops out of organizational life."
※ Women's League: An organization composed primarily of housewives who are not formally employed.
※ Organization Life: All North Koreans belong to a workplace, women's organization, youth organization, or similar body and are subject to routine Korean Workers' Party oversight through these structures. Dropping out of one's organization is a punishable offense.
※ 10 million won: Approximately 160 USD at the May 22 exchange rate. Given that the monthly wage for an ordinary worker at a state enterprise is roughly 35,000–50,000 North Korean won, this fine is equivalent to roughly 200 months' salary.
◆ Why They Leave a Note Saying "I've Gone to the Mountains"
Because Hyesan is a border city with China, residents who are absent from home for extended periods and stop showing up to work immediately come under suspicion of having defected. Since defection is treated as a political offense and carries severe penalties, people reportedly leave a note before heading into the mountains.
"I heard that four households from one apartment building in a certain dong [neighborhood] went to the mountains. At first there was a panic and people thought it was a mass defection, but it turned out they had gone into the mountains in the direction of Baegam. To avoid being suspected of fleeing to China, people write a note saying 'Life was too hard, so I've gone to the mountains' before leaving home, and they come back down once or twice a month."
Authorities are patrolling as far as the mountain interior to catch hwajeonmin, but any fundamental solution remains out of reach.
"When they crack down, the only ones they catch are the elderly. Younger people hide until the crackdown is over, then go back to their huts. The government says it will take organized measures, but even if they bring people back to the city, they'll just starve. There's nothing to be done."
※ ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.
