The authorities in North Korea’s Jagang province have been cracking down on the production of moonshine since the turn of the year.
“The provincial authorities began policing bootlegging in November on orders from the Central Committee. But far from being stamped out, moonshine production only increased during the winter. So tougher measures have been taken since the New Year,” a source in the province told Daily NK recently.
In Jagang province, with its high concentration of arms factories, bootlegging has become increasingly popular among the family members of factory workers in such cities as Kanggye, Manpo, and Hoechon and such counties as Hyangsan and Songgan. That prompted the authorities to crack down on the practice.
According to the source, the family members of these factory workers use several months’ worth of corn rations as the base material for making large amounts of moonshine.
After learning about this practice, the Jagang provincial party committee observed that the families of arms factory workers were using months’ worth of rations to make moonshine when many families were lucky to receive a week’s ration every month and were going hungry for want of food. At the beginning of January, the committee ordered the provincial police bureau to make a point of eliminating these bootlegging activities.
Police raids and neighborhood tipoffs
The provincial police bureau passed the committee’s orders down to police departments at the municipal and county level, and police officers throughout the province are now raiding the market stalls and restaurants where bootlegged alcohol is purveyed.
In addition, police officers are joining the leaders of neighborhood watch units on visits to homes of suspected bootleggers and collecting evidence of illegal activities, including distilling equipment and kegs.
Some neighborhood leaders have been tipping off bootleggers about upcoming raids so they can conceal their gear and booze, leading police to warn that any neighborhood leaders who are in cahoots with bootleggers will be sacked.
When the police catch somebody making alcohol at home, they confiscate their equipment and bring them to the station for questioning. Offenders are fined and sent to a struggle session with their neighborhood watch unit.
But some bootleggers have been able to recover their equipment by leveraging connections and bribing the police. Rumors about that have provoked angry criticism from bootleggers who have not gotten their equipment back.
“Because of its geography, Jagang province is neither suitable for farming nor conducive for the transportation of goods. Under those conditions, locals have supported their livelihood by swapping moonshine for grain and fuel. But with the authorities cracking down on bootlegging, people will struggle to endure the winter without government rations,” the source said.
“Bootlegging is being policed as a non-socialist behavior as part of a social shift toward no longer tolerating the practice. But the crackdown is a nightmare for residents of Jagang province, who complain that their very livelihood is in jeopardy,” the source added.
