＜N. Korea Investigation＞ Trapped by the "Women's Union" (1): Endless Mobilization… Construction Sites, Farm Work, Road Cleaning, Urban Beautification—"More Than 15 Days a Month, 5–6 Hours a Day"

◆ Mobilized More Than Half the Month... Some Days Over 10 Hours of Work

So how much of their time does the Women's Union take up?

"It varies by region, but Women's Union members assigned to road and urban beautification work are mobilized at least 15 days a month, for about five to six hours a day. During critical periods, like farm mobilization or flood recovery construction, they're sometimes mobilized for nine to 10 hours a day. It's so hard that some people take jobs just to get out of the Women's Union," Reporting Partner B said.

Reporting Partner A, in North Hamgyong Province, says, "We're mobilized 14 to 17 days a month, for an average of about eight hours a day. Sometimes it's just an afternoon mobilization of only three hours." A added that documents for Women's Union members, such as the leader's (Kim Jong-un's) remarks and policies, come down two or three times a week, and members must study the leader's greatness or attend lectures on social conditions.

The hardship of Women's Union membership is not just frequent mobilization and long hours. Despite all this work, members receive no compensation whatsoever—and they must pay Women's Union dues every month. However, there is reportedly a way to be excused from mobilization by paying additional money on top of the dues. In the next installment, we will report on this in detail, along with how the Women's Union is run.

※ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.