TheLunarCat

The history of North Korea up until the end of the Korean War (1953) is the same as for South Korea, so refer to the page on South Korea for more information.

When North Korea was first established after World War II, it relied heavily on the Soviet Union and other Socialist allies to provide aid, import food and for cheap fuel.  The imported food was tightly controlled by the government and rationed, but the rations were not based on need, but on whether citizens were loyal to the government. The elite got priority over others. However, the USSR started to crumble and the import of food aid stopped.

In the years 1994 to 1998 North Korea suffered from a famine which was not only the result of the discontinued aid from the USSR, but also the result of bad planning, an unreasonable policy of self-sufficiency and self-imposed isolation of the country. North Korea did reach out to the international community for aid, however, this aid was stolen or shared amongst the elites instead of the starving population. The famine killed millions of people and was never acknowledged by the country’s leaders. As a result of the famine, food is very important, and there is no such thing as food wastage - everything gets eaten. 

Today, as a result of border closures from COVID-19 and long standing sanctions with other countries (due to their stance on nuclear weapons) the food shortages continue and much of the population is suffering from malnutrition. 

North Korea has a policy of self-sufficiency, however, farmland and weather conditions are not optimal for food production. The farmland near South Korea is more fertile than elsewhere, so is used for growing crops such as corn, rice and grains. The area near the Pyongyang, the capital, is used for meat, bean and pea production. The North is less fertile, so there is more concentration on seafood and water foods that use seafood, bean sprouts and water radishes obtained from the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea.

Due to North Korea’s landscape, recipes tend to be based on rice, grains, vegetables, legumes and fish, with lots of fermented foods as a result of the climate. The Winters are dry and cold, so fermentation is used to preserve vegetables, and Kimchi is eaten with most meals. Herbs and spices such as garlic, green onions, red pepper and ginger are used as well as sesame oil or perilla oil for flavouring foods. Due to the lack of oils, there is limited deep-frying of foods in North Korea. Meals are also very much based on seasonal produce and availability of fermented or preserved foods.

Although there are the same Chinese and Japanese influences on the food as for South Korea, the food is distinctly different, and a lot milder than South Korean food.

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