Dietary Living in North Korea according to the Defectors

탈북자의 북한에서의 식생활 실태와 남한에서 인식한 차이

We performed a study to understand the dietary situation in North Korea and to compare the difference between the North and the South. Two hundred North Korean defectors from the North since 1990 participated in this survey. Information was collected from December, 1997 to February, 1998 by mailing pre-tested questionnaires, which had been confirmed by 10 previous interviewers. The final data from 157 defectors(107 male and 33 female with 17 unidentified gender) were analyzed. We found that (1) North Koreans are lower in height, weight and BMI than South Koreans, (2) The North Korean diet is very simple and monotonous. It is limited to their local and unprocessed foods and dishes, which is far from the trend of globalization and readiness. (3) On the other hand, in the North, the government control on foods diminished because food shortage leads to free market activity where housewives manage their own foodservices, and to accelate their eating-out behaviors. (4) Profound differences between the South and the North in dietary life are noticed by the defectors as English words and Korean words. Efforts to understand and learn about each other is necessary before not too late.