Particle.news
Download on the App Store
4 ARTICLES
·
3d ago

North Korean State Media Pushes Dog‑Meat Soup and Ginseng Broths as Heatwave Remedies

State outlets frame traditional foods as medical fixes in a record summer, signaling stressed water and power supplies and higher humanitarian risk for a malnourished population.

Image
Image
Experts say North Koreans are likely suffering more from the heat than South Koreans because they lack the infrastructure that South Korea has
Across the truce line, North Korea's self-declared soup hotspot Kaesong recently simmered in the distance through a heat haze

Overview

  • State newspapers and broadcasters have recommended cooling foods and ‘nutritious’ dishes such as dog‑meat soup and samgye‑tang, with a Rodong Sinmun health feature on August 2 citing a Pyongyang General Hospital doctor.
  • The Korean peninsula is in a record hot spell and South Korea has reported more than 20 heat‑related deaths while North Korea has not released any fatality figures.
  • State coverage pairs health tips with propaganda, repeatedly highlighting past episodes of Kim Jong Un working in extreme weather and showing crowds at beaches and water parks.
  • Experts and aid agencies warn chronic power outages, strained water systems and widespread malnutrition limit access to cooling and raise risks for severe heat illness outside Pyongyang.
  • Dog meat remains culturally prominent in the North, where a national cooking contest was held this year, even as South Korea plans to outlaw dog‑meat sales by February 2027, a contrast that could shape cross‑peninsula perceptions and policy debates.