From the Daily NK:
North Korean Women Responsible for 90% of Family Living…Recent Increase in Divorce
Recently, it has been found that the divorce rate of North Korean women is rapidly increasing.
According to a newsletter published by a support organization for North Korea ‘Good Friends’ on the 29th, the majority of North Korean women bound to this battle of life are responsible for more than 90% of the family’s living and are caught in a severe lifestyle where they even have to gather bribes to the liking of security officers and protection officers.
It was reported that “The majority of women wake up at 3.30am to make rice and work outside the home all day. On returning home, they are still in charge of domestic housework such as cooking, washing, cleaning. For these reasons divorce has rapidly increased.”
The newsletter also reported “In the case of North Hamkyung province, in spite of divorce proceedings being complicated and approval difficult, of the people married the actual figure of couples living separately or undergoing divorce has reached 20%.”
The major basis of divorce is the burden of women to fulfill duties both in society and traditional female roles within the home.
In addition, it was explained that the reason divorces rates are rising is “During the period of full mobilization to farms like in May and June, not only is it difficult to eat three proper meals a day, but the number of husbands that help in domestic affairs does not even reach 10%.”
