Dear MEL Topic Readers,
North Korea: Potato propaganda is back... but what does it mean?
In eastern Asia like Japan, Korea, and the Sothern part of China, rice has been the primary food. But unlike southeastern Asia where water is plentiful and temperatures are always warm to grow and harvest rice multiple times a year, rice harvest of these eastern Asia regions can be affected severely by weather and natural disasters like drought or flood. When rice harvest plunges, people in the area have to depend on rice substitutes, such as millet, buckwheat, and potatoes. No offense to potatoes, but they aren’t rice.
In North Korea between 1994 and 1998, there were economic mismanagement and a series of floods and droughts, which caused severe food shortages. They had no choice but to grow more potatoes since they are quick to harvest and provide much-needed calories and nutrition to starving people. So, the government encouraged people to grow and eat potatoes via propaganda then.
Recently, quite considerable potato-honoring media activities have detected in North Korea. Does it mean they are starving again?
Watch the video to learn about what potato propaganda could mean in the secretive state.
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