How do the North Korean people make a living?

The average worker's monthly income is 60 to 80 won, and this is hardly enough to buy anything. (This could barely buy 200 grams of rice, or one pack of cigarettes.)

Back in 1960 … the average monthly income of workers was also around 60 won [but then] the monthly rent for a high-rise apartment averaged about 2 won. Rice was available for extremely low prices.

A child from North Korea begged me for money at the China-North Korea border. I discovered that he was seventeen (hard to believe from his appearance) after we started to talk.

I asked him, "How much do you need to save your four family members from starvation right now? … He answered that he needed 150 yuan (about 2,500 yen or US $30).

This answer motivated us to start our campaign "One thousand yen ($12) will help an entire four-member family survive for a month. Donate the money you would spend for one lunch."

http://www.northkoreanrefugees.com/