“When the wind was blowing and the waves were running high, something was always washing up on land and I was so happy because I could find something new,” Kang Dong Wan, a professor at Dong-A University in South Korea, told the Associated Press. Prior to the pandemic, Kang regularly visited cities in northern China to meet with North Koreans living there and photograph North Korean villages across the border. But because of China’s restrictions on COVID-19 restricting foreign travelers, it can no longer go there. Since September 2020, Kang has visited five islands off the South Korean border off the west coast of the country and collected about 2,000 pieces of North Korean rubbish, including snack bags, juice cases, candy wrappers and bottles. Analyzing these pieces of trash can open up exciting ideas for the secret country. For example, a candy wrapper that mentions tree leaves as a substitute for sugar may indicate a lack of sugar in the country. Kang also says that the discovery of more than 30 types of artificial flavor enhancers could mean that North Korean households could not afford more expensive natural ingredients such as meat and fish to cook Korean soups and stews. Many South Koreans have stopped using them at home for health reasons. The variety, quantity and increasing complexity of rubbish, Kang said, also confirms North Korean state media reports that leader Kim Jong Un is pushing for the production of various consumer goods and a larger industrial design sector to meet to the demands of his people and improve their livelihood. “In the beginning, I was discouraged when people said, ‘Why is a teacher picking up rubbish?’ “But now I’m excited about what I found.” “This can be very important material because we can find out what products are made in North Korea and what products people use there.” With files from the Associated Press
