Arduous March

The Arduous March: North Korea's Famine

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The causes of North Korea's famine in the early 1900’s are a series of changes that the citizens had to endure. First, the North Korean government started to depend heavily on agriculture production. At first this system benefitted the country by producing an abundance of grain. But this situation did not last and in 1991, North Korea’s economy was in turmoil. The shortage of food became even more serious in 1992 when the government claimed to the media that rationing two meals a day produced a healthier nation. The agricultural production continued to suffer from 1992 to 1995 and the heavy rains that created floods, caused a greater disaster. Over two million people died during the Arduous March and by 1995, North Korea had no choice but to ask for international aid. Today, North Korean peasants are still suffering from malnutrition. Below is a line graph that shows the changes of North Korea's food supply from 1995 to 2008. http://www.nkeconwatch.com/nk-uploads/figure-1.JPG Photo Courtesy of nkeconwatch.com

Citation: Lankov, Andrei “(233) Famine: A Disaster Waiting to Happen.” The Korea Times 8 July 2007 