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North Korea has mobilized thousands of medical students and ordinary citizens into forced agricultural labor, dispatching them to collect medicinal herbs and plant rice as the isolated regime grapples with chronic medicine shortages and food production targets. According to reports from Daily NK, students from medical faculties across North Pyongan province have been sent to mountains and fields since late April to gather traditional Korean medicinal herbs, while civilians face mass roundups for rice transplanting duties under threat of punishment.
What Is Behind North Korea's Forced Labor Mobilization?
North Korea's forced labor campaigns are a direct consequence of severe economic isolation. The heavily sanctioned country has minimal access to Western pharmaceuticals, medical ingredients, or production equipment. To offset this, the regime has revived traditional Korean medicine, known as Koryo medicine, launching a state-wide campaign to boost production. Simultaneously, the annual rice-planting season requires massive labor inputs to meet targets set during the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in early 2026.
Medical Students Forced Into 'Herb Vacation' Collection
Since late April, students from Sinuiju Medical University and other health-related institutions in North Pyongan province have been dispatched to collect medicinal herbs in what authorities call 'field practice.' The collection period runs through mid-May. Lower-year students forage for herbs including atractylodes, poria mushroom, achyranthes, plantain, aralia root, and mugwort. Upper-year students maintain herb plots and process collected materials.
Schools have cut regular classes to send students in large numbers to the mountains. Students have dubbed the mobilization 'herb vacation' (kruidenvakantie), a sarcastic reference to the repetitive seasonal labor. A source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK: 'Medical students are no longer just studying. They are outside digging up and drying herbs. Every spring and autumn, the same mobilization cycle begins.'
The collected herbs go to production workshops nominally operated for 'educational purposes' but in practice functioning as Koryo medicine factories. These workshops produce decoctions, pill formulas, herbal syrups, and medicinal liquors. Institutions compete to develop new formulations in line with state-driven 'innovation' initiatives.
Open Criticism Among Students Despite Risks
Remarkably, sources report open criticism among students, a dangerous act in a country where draconian punishments exist for watching K-pop videos or listening to Western music. Many students express frustration that they spend more time searching for herbs than receiving proper medical training. 'There is open criticism among students that they spend more time searching for herbs than learning or practicing modern medical techniques,' the source said. 'But authorities insist Koryo medicine production is a crucial public health task directly linked to improving the population's welfare, so students have no choice but to comply.'
Mass Rice-Planting Mobilization and Civilian Crackdown
Beyond students, ordinary North Korean citizens face forced mobilization for the rice-planting season. On May 7, mobilization orders were issued to farms in Yomju district, North Pyongan province, requiring all available labor to report for agricultural work. The rice-planting campaign runs from early/mid-May to early June annually. Authorities deploy soldiers, workers, housewives, and students to farms nationwide to address chronic labor shortages.
The mobilization follows rigid Soviet-style planning that ignores practical realities, such as seedlings not being ready due to spring drought and fluctuating temperatures. A source explained: 'It's the same every year: first send people out, then somehow get the transplanting done by the deadline. Even on farms where planting hasn't started because seedlings aren't ready, people must still show up and find something to do.'
Citizens Hide to Avoid Forced Labor
Many North Koreans try to avoid forced labor. Those with money or connections pay substitutes or obtain exemptions; those without stay indoors. Streets in affected areas have become notably quiet during the day since the mobilization order. 'People say it's better to sleep at home than risk being picked up on the street and dragged to the fields,' the source reported. 'There's a saying here that during rice-planting season, the streets fall silent. This year is no exception.'
Travel restrictions have intensified. From May 11 to 25, a 15-day rural mobilization order banned all travel before 2 p.m., with state security agents and patrol teams setting up checkpoints. Violators are sent directly to labor camps for nearly the full 15 days, according to Daily NK.
Rice Prices Soar Amid Food Crisis
Meanwhile, market prices continue to rise sharply. According to Daily NK's periodic market price survey, a kilogram of rice in Pyongyang cost 32,700 North Korean won (approximately €31–34) on May 10, a 5.5% increase from the previous survey on April 26. In Hyesan, Ryanggang province, rice reached 33,900 won per kg, an 8.3% rise. The state newspaper Rodong Sinmun published a front-page article on May 11 emphasizing that successful rice planting was essential to fulfill party commitments from the Ninth Congress, calling on all officials and workers to show 'patriotic devotion' in the fields.
FAQ: North Korea's Forced Labor Practices
What is Koryo medicine?
Koryo medicine is North Korea's term for traditional Korean medicine, based on yin-yang principles and the five elements. It uses herbal remedies, acupuncture, and moxibustion. The regime promotes it as a self-sufficient alternative to Western pharmaceuticals.
How are students mobilized in North Korea?
Students from universities and colleges are routinely sent to farms, mines, and construction sites as part of state-directed labor campaigns. Medical students collect herbs, while others plant rice or work in factories. These mobilizations are framed as 'field practice' or 'patriotic labor.'
What happens to North Koreans who refuse forced labor?
Refusal or evasion can lead to arrest, detention in labor camps, beatings, or worse. During rice-planting season, travel bans are enforced with checkpoints, and violators are sent to labor camps for up to 15 days.
Why is North Korea facing food shortages in 2026?
Chronic economic mismanagement, international sanctions, spring drought, and fluctuating temperatures have damaged crops. Rice and corn prices hit record highs in early 2026, with rice prices rising 64% in six weeks.
How does North Korea justify forced labor?
The regime frames forced labor as 'patriotic devotion' and a necessary part of building a self-reliant economy (Juche). Authorities claim it improves public welfare and meets production goals set by the Workers' Party.
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