They probably give you enough to not totally starve quickly but any luxury like maybe fresh food or say a favorite tea would mean finding some way to pay. Just guessing.
Most interviews with escaped North Koreans state the opposite. They are expected to be very self reliant while not having much to begin with. Farmers typically get most of their grain taken away with no compensation and have to survive by foraging, etc.
Wait, why aren’t people taken care of in totality? Isn’t that the point of their authoritarian system?
They probably give you enough to not totally starve quickly but any luxury like maybe fresh food or say a favorite tea would mean finding some way to pay. Just guessing.
North Korea is pretty infamous for people starving.
Most interviews with escaped North Koreans state the opposite. They are expected to be very self reliant while not having much to begin with. Farmers typically get most of their grain taken away with no compensation and have to survive by foraging, etc.
But… what’s the point of farming in the first place if you can’t eat it??
Not being sent to the work camp for three generations is a good motivator.
I imagine the point is not being killed or sent to a gulag to be worked to death for disobeying. Don’t assume these people have much of a choice.