Nothing to Envy

After reaching a point of absolute despair, Mrs. Song nonetheless starts another business. As the socialist food system ceases to operate, there is “opportunity for private businesses,” which are technically illegal, but completely necessary (149). Women begin many of these businesses, as men stay with their work units. Mrs. Song begins making and selling cookies. Dr. Kim writes false doctor’s notes so that people can skip out on work to search for food. Mi-ran’s mother begins to operate a mill. Prostitution also comes back into vogue, as young women accept food for payment. Oak-hee begins to rent out her room to a prostitute. As the worst of the famine sets in, foreign aid in the form of rice and exotic vegetables, as well as household necessities, arrives on the black market: Mrs. Song surmises that “somebody in the military was selling for profit” (155). As the markets expand, class inequality becomes more pervasive, with starvation happening alongside the accumulation of wealth.

This chapter more fully introduces Kim Hyuck, who appears briefly in Chapter Six. Although he is a “child of privilege,” his widower father sends him to an orphanage during the famine to ensure he has enough to eat (161).