“It’s hard to say whether I’m a doctor or a farmer …..”
SOURCE: N. Korean doctors turn to bribery to make ends meet
“After the pandemic, growing crops on the hospital’s spare land has become the doctors’ main job…,” one doctor told Daily NK
By Han Jae-deok – August 8, 2024
North Korean doctors, struggling to survive on meager government rations, are increasingly turning to bribery and farming on hospital grounds instead of treating patients.
“Even during the pandemic, doctors could count on receiving ten days’ worth of food from the rationing center every month. But now they’re lucky to get one week’s ration every month, forcing them to find other ways to keep food on the table,” a source in North Hamgyong province told Daily NK on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A doctor surnamed Kim (a pseudonym), who works at a hospital in the mining area of Kyongwon county, ekes out a living by accepting small amounts of food from locals in exchange for issuing medical certificates.
“Kim only gets about a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of corn for a three-day medical certificate. Considering that his family needs 45-50 kilograms (99-110 pounds) a month to keep the wolf away from the door, you have to wonder how many of these certificates he’s issuing,” the source said.
Medical certificates are supposed to be submitted as proof of illness. But the source explained that in North Korea, people who want to run illegal businesses, dodge work orders, or just take a day off often give doctors some money or food in exchange for a fake medical certificate.
“The fact is that it is difficult for doctors to make a living unless they take bribes from their patients. Things are harder now than before or even during the pandemic,” said another doctor at the hospital surnamed Lee (a pseudonym).
Before the pandemic, the hospital received a few shipments of medical supplies from international organizations every few months. Doctors could quietly sell some of those supplies or trade them for food, and they also received about two weeks’ worth of food rations each month, Lee recalled.
Doctors face tougher times now than before pandemic
Even during the pandemic, doctors were better off than they are now because they still had access to medical supplies that they could sell for private profit.
But now, medical supplies are no longer being delivered, and doctors’ rations have been drastically reduced. In order to make a living, Lee said, doctors must shift their priorities from treating patients to tending crops on the hospital’s land and issuing medical certificates in exchange for cash or food.
Another doctor at the hospital, surnamed Chae (a pseudonym), described the sorry state of people in his profession. “It’s hard to say whether I’m a doctor or a farmer or a handyman for the hospital,” he said.
“After the pandemic, growing crops on the hospital’s spare land has become the doctors’ main job, and we’re more interested in the fall harvest than in taking care of our patients. I’ve been doing so much farming these days that I sometimes forget what my real job is. It’s all very discouraging,” said Chae.
“These days, the (county’s party) committee sends us summaries of hygiene lectures once a week, whereas we used to get them every few months. What’s the point of telling people to boil water before drinking it if we have no medicine to give them? After working in the fields, one of the doctors’ main jobs these days is to forge paperwork for hygiene lectures they never gave,” Chae added.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.
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