“They complain that prices always go up when the holidays come around, so they wish there were no holidays.”īut even as most ordinary people struggle, the government is importing tons of Chinese fruit – lychees, pineapples and mangoes – to be given to high-ranking officials in the capital of Pyongyang.Īttractive piles of fruit are a key part of the jesa ceremony, but even more ordinary fruit has become scarce and expensive in North Korea because of an import ban imposed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago. “Residents who went to the market to buy meat for the holiday are discouraged,” the source said. Other items like cooking oil and chili powder also saw significant price hikes. Over the past month, rice prices jumped 27%, corn rose 17%, and pork, which was already very expensive and unaffordable for most people, climbed 11%. “We have to prepare for the Lunar New Year holiday, but prices are rising steeply, so the hearts of ordinary residents are heavy,” a resident of the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA’s Korean Service on condition of anonymity for security reasons. The Lunar New Year, along with the autumn harvest Chuseok festival, are the two most important holidays in Korean culture, when extended families gather for jesa, a ceremony and feast that honors ancestors.
Traditional korean lunar new year snacks free#
The holiday spirit in North Korea is at a low ebb as higher prices for meat, rice and other foods make celebrating the Lunar New Year a costly affair, sources in the country told Radio Free Asia.
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