Cornmeal Dumplings Cooked in River Water
The hardest years were 1996 and 1997. We had food ration cards, but the state-owned stores were completely empty, and there was nothing to buy. Only small traders, like my mother, fared somewhat better. Thanks to her, we were able to eat once a day, though it was always the same: dumplings made from cornmeal cooked in river water. *1
Hyeongjik
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 2 cups water (preferably filtered, symbolizing river water)
- Salt to taste (optional, if available)
Preparation:
- Boiling the water:
- In a small pot, bring the water to a boil. During the crisis in North Korea, water was often fetched from rivers, as many regions lacked access to clean drinking water.
- Preparing the dumpling dough:
- In a bowl, gradually mix the cornmeal with a little of the boiled water until it forms a thick dough. The dumplings should be firm enough to form small balls or oval shapes.
- Cooking the dumplings:
- Once the water boils, gently drop the formed dumplings into the pot. Cook on low heat for about 10-15 minutes, until the dumplings soften and the water thickens slightly. In reality, this dish was a basic and simple meal that allowed many families to survive during difficult times.
- Serving:
- Serve the dumplings hot, without any additional ingredients. During the crisis, such food was a humble but crucial source of energy that helped people endure the hardships.
The regime of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) is considered by the Western world to be the most totalitarian system in the modern world. Satellite images show this communist country as a dark, unlit spot. The lights began to go out in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The failing economy and corrupt system fell into darkness. Power plants collapsed, and starving people stole pieces of copper wire from electrical poles to trade for food.
In the 1990s, North Korea experienced one of the greatest humanitarian crises of our time. The famine, which lasted from 1995 to 1999, was referred to as the “Arduous March.” The regime’s propaganda campaign invoked a tale from the time of Kim Il-sung, depicting a struggle against thousands of enemies in minus 20-degree weather, in heavy snow, and with hunger, but with a red flag. Suffering was ingrained in patriotic behavior, while the word “famine” was banned because it suggested government failure.
People began to eat grass, and tree bark ground into flour became a popular food item, available in illegal markets. Human meat also appeared. When the food distribution system collapsed, people displayed incredible ingenuity in finding food. They learned how to make inedible plant species edible. Nets for catching sparrows were hung on balconies, and homemade traps for small animals were constructed. Desperate people searched for undigested corn kernels in animal droppings. They also learned to extract rice grains and other edible materials from the sludge scraped from the floors of port warehouses where food products had been stored.
Hunger became a tool of punishment and a means to eliminate political opponents of Kim Jong-il, who were imprisoned in labor camps where they quickly died without food. Regions where support for the regime was deemed low were deprived of food supplies. Foreign food aid was seized by the state and distributed according to political criteria, such as rewarding behavior promoted by the regime.
Despite the catastrophe, North Korea’s highest officials lived in luxury, importing goods from China and Europe. Hundreds of forced laborers worked in many countries around the world, and their wages financed the lavish lifestyle of the Korean Workers’ Party.
Nearly 2.5 million people died, and the average life expectancy decreased by 6-7 years.
Since 2018, there have been reports of economic troubles in the country, along with related hunger and malnutrition. The situation has been worsened by restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and severe sanctions imposed on North Korea due to the lack of agreement on nuclear weapons. The authorities have provided guidance on what citizens should eat in the absence of basic products, promoting turtle meat and pheasant hunting.