Society & Daily Life

Overview

Life in North Korea is shaped by a tightly controlled social system and the constant influence of state ideology. Everyday life for the average North Korean is austere and regimented. The state still claims to provide for people's needs – housing, education, medical care, jobs – but resources are scarce, and citizens have very limited personal freedoms.

Education

North Korea has a high literacy rate and a well-structured education system on paper. Schooling is compulsory and free for 12 years (since reforms under Kim Jong-un in 2012). Children attend one year of kindergarten, five years of primary school, three years of lower secondary, and three years of upper secondary school. In principle, all education expenses are borne by the state (including uniforms and textbooks).

In reality, due to economic hardships, many schools lack supplies and have had to ask parents for contributions or labor to maintain facilities, especially during the 1990s crisis. The quality of education can vary widely by region and the status of the school – Pyongyang and other major cities have better-funded schools than rural areas.

Curriculum and Indoctrination

The curriculum places heavy emphasis on political indoctrination. Students learn a subject called "Revolutionary History" which covers the biographies and achievements of Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un, and Kim family relatives in minute detail. From a young age, children memorize stories of Kim Il-sung's anti-Japanese guerrilla days and Kim Jong-il's purported exploits.

Beyond ideology, the education system does teach core subjects like mathematics, science, Korean language, and basic foreign languages (English or Russian). In recent years, there are reports of increased focus on math and science to showcase student talents. However, access to information is extremely filtered – the internet is not available to students, and all content is state-approved. Critical thinking that contradicts official narratives is not allowed.

Higher Education

After finishing compulsory education at around age 17, some youths go on to university (entrance is competitive and often reserved for those with good songbun or exemplary records). The top university is Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang. Higher education specializes in technical fields, sciences, and ideology; North Korea also has military academies and special institutes. However, many high school graduates go directly into the workforce or military service if not selected for college.

Healthcare

North Korea advertises free universal healthcare, and indeed there is a vast network of hospitals and clinics. In practice, the healthcare system suffers from chronic shortages of medicine, equipment, and qualified personnel – especially outside Pyongyang. During the 1990s economic collapse, hospitals ran out of basic medicines and power, leading to a resurgence of diseases and a deterioration in public health.

International NGOs and the UN have at times provided aid (food supplements, tuberculosis treatments, etc.), but such aid has been inconsistent and sometimes restricted by the regime. Common people often must rely on informal markets to obtain medicines or pay doctors under the table for better care, despite official policy.

Elite officials have access to a separate, high-quality hospital in Pyongyang (for top cadre and their families), whereas ordinary citizens make do with dilapidated local clinics.

Housing and Living Conditions

All housing in North Korea is owned by the state and assigned to citizens based on their occupation, family status, and loyalty ranking. Urban residents typically live in Soviet-style apartment blocks. In Pyongyang, many apartments have running water and intermittent electricity, and recent construction has produced some modern high-rise apartments (often gifted to scientists, athletes, or model workers as propaganda showcases).

In contrast, housing in secondary cities or rural villages can be quite basic – small one-story homes or simple apartments, often lacking reliable heating or indoor plumbing. During the winter, coal or wood-fired briquettes are used to heat homes, which can pose fire and carbon monoxide risks.

Housing Allocation

The housing one receives is very much tied to one's songbun (socio-political loyalty). Pyongyang, the showcase capital, is off-limits to citizens without permission; only the most trusted (party members, military officers, skilled professionals) are allowed to live in Pyongyang. Those with bad songbun (e.g., relatives of perceived regime enemies) might be allocated housing in remote, less desirable regions.

There is no real estate market – people cannot buy or sell property legally, though an under-the-table market for apartment exchanges has reportedly emerged, facilitated by bribes.

Work and Economy of Daily Life

The government assigns all citizens a work unit and job after schooling, as part of the planned economy. People are nominally employed by state enterprises, collective farms, or government offices. However, since state salaries are extremely low (often equivalent to just a few dollars a month at unofficial rates) and government rations have dwindled, many North Koreans have turned to market activities to survive.

It's common for workers to quietly skip official work or for workplaces to be idle, while individuals trade in the markets. Markets (jangmadang) in cities and towns sell food, clothing, household goods, often provided by traders who bring in goods (legally or smuggled) from China. The regime alternates between tolerating these markets as a "necessary evil" and cracking down when they feel it undermines control.

A typical family's day might involve the official job in the morning, and in the afternoon selling homemade goods or farming a private plot. Women in particular have become key players in grassroots market trade, as many men are tied up in formal jobs or extended military service.

Standard of Living

The standard of living is difficult to measure but by most accounts is very low. Outside of the elite circles, North Koreans have very limited access to consumer goods – bicycles are common transport for those who have them, as private cars are rare. Many people wear simple, state-issued clothing or Chinese imports from markets.

Food for ordinary families consists mainly of rice (or corn), kimchi (fermented vegetables), and small amounts of fish or tofu; meat is a luxury reserved for special occasions. Urban dwellers rely on markets or private gardens, as state rations of staple foods have become unreliable since the 90s. In the 2010s, food security improved somewhat in cities, but as of 2022-2023 reports indicated food shortages were again worsening due to the closed border with China and poor harvests.

Social Controls

Daily life is also defined by continuous surveillance and collective structure. Citizens are organized into neighborhood watch units called "inminban" – groups of households led by a state-appointed monitor who keeps tabs on residents' activities (ensuring, for example, that portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il are clean and correctly displayed in each home).

People attend mandatory study sessions where they read newspapers and ideological materials, and self-criticism meetings where they confess faults and praise the leadership. Travel within the country is restricted: one needs a permit to go from one province to another. Especially, travel to Pyongyang or border areas requires authorization. There are checkpoints on roads and railways to enforce this.

Information Control

The isolation from outside information is another hallmark of life. Foreign media or contact is forbidden. Televisions and radios in North Korea are preset to state channels and sealed. Listening to a South Korean radio broadcast or watching foreign films can lead to severe punishment.

Despite this, foreign media (South Korean K-dramas, Hollywood movies, K-pop music) has been smuggled on USB drives and secretly circulated among some North Koreans, particularly near the Chinese border and among youth. The government has cracked down on this "cultural infiltration" with harsh laws in recent years, fearing its impact on peoples' loyalty.

Urban vs. Rural Life

There is a significant divide in living standards between the showcase capital Pyongyang and the countryside. Pyongyang is home to the most loyal and affluent citizens. It features comparatively grand monuments, some leisure facilities (a few parks, a zoo, stadiums), and stores that sell imported goods (though often only to those with foreign currency).

The electricity in Pyongyang is more regular (certain districts have near 24-hour power), and model institutions like Pyongyang Maternity Hospital or the Sci-Tech Complex are meant to display the "achievements" of the state. Pyongyang residents enjoy privileges such as access to better schools, more reliable public distribution (when available), and priority for new housing.

By contrast, rural North Koreans often engage in backbreaking farm labor, with rudimentary living conditions. Many remote villages have no electrical grid, limited medical facilities, and are cut off during harsh winters due to poor roads. Malnutrition has historically been worse in the northeast provinces and rural south where food supplies can be scarce.

Family Life

North Korean families are traditionally structured with Confucian influences – respect for elders, and often three generations living together. However, the regime in the early decades actively worked to break down old class distinctions and Confucian traditions. The state tried to position itself as the "provider" and de-emphasize loyalty to family in favor of loyalty to party. Still, families remain close-knit as a support system, especially given the hardships.

Marriages are typically by personal choice today, though one's songbun (family background) can affect the suitability of a match. The state sponsors mass weddings occasionally and there are ideological components (couples often pay respects to statues of the Leaders as part of their ceremony).

Gender Roles

Women officially have equal rights, but in practice many social expectations remain traditional. Men are expected to fulfill the compulsory military service and then work in state jobs; women often shoulder the burden of scraping together family income through market trading or odd jobs, since official salaries are insufficient. The regime does celebrate women on International Women's Day and lauds model female workers, but a patriarchal undertone persists (for instance, only a small minority of high officials are female).

Leisure and Culture

Leisure and culture in daily life are largely collective and state-directed. North Koreans participate in organized events such as mass dances on major holidays, rallies, or local performance shows. Cinema and theater exist but the content is propaganda – e.g. revolutionary operas or films about historical battles led by Kim Il-sung.

A famous example of state-choreographed leisure is the Mass Games (Arirang Festival), a huge synchronized gymnastics and art performance involving tens of thousands of youth in Pyongyang's May Day Stadium, held on special anniversaries. Attendance at these events is often mandatory for students or workers when called upon.

For day-to-day leisure, people may play sports (soccer is popular, also table tennis or volleyball), gather for picnics, or simply socialize. However, their choices are limited – there's no public Internet, very few private cars for road trips, no overseas travel except for select elite. Some privileged Pyongyang residents can enjoy amusement parks, bowling alleys, or a new dolphinarium, which have been showcased in media. But such facilities are out of reach for most citizens.

Conclusion

Despite the restrictive environment, North Koreans find ways to adapt and even find joy in small things – be it home-brewed alcohol shared among friends, the lively bartering in markets, or the vibrant underground trading of South Korean dramas that give a forbidden glimpse of the outside world. The regime's overpowering presence is a constant backdrop, but an ordinary day for a North Korean involves human concerns common anywhere: feeding one's family, getting children to school, gossiping with neighbors (carefully), and hoping for a better future.