Talking about salaries in North Korea is like trying to guess what’s inside a locked box with no key, everything’s tightly controlled, and shrouded in layers of government silence. Take a look at the an average salary a Caregiver is expected to earn In North Korea. Is it a kind of job you like? let see what the job can offer.
Unlike most parts of the world where wages are tracked, debated, and published for public knowledge, North Korea doesn’t play by those rules. It has its own system, and it’s a complicated one including the caregiver’s salary.
But if you zoom in closely, behind the ideological banners and military parades, you’ll find people who are ordinary North Koreans doing extraordinary things in silence. That includes caregivers. Whether they’re tending to the elderly in private homes, caring for sick relatives, or offering support in state-run institutions, their work is just as essential even if it’s almost invisible to the outside world.
So, what’s the average salary of a caregiver in North Korea? Let’s unpack it carefully, honestly, and with a lot of heart.
What Does a Caregiver Really Earn in North Korea?
Here is where it gets a bit unconventional, North Korea doesn’t run on a typical salary-based capitalist system. Instead, it operates on a state-controlled model where most workers are assigned jobs by the government, and payments often come in the form of basic rations, state-set wages, or barter.
That said, an average state-employed worker including those in caregiving roles like nurses, aides, or home assistants may earn between 3,000 to 8,000 North Korean won per month. Sounds like a lot? Not really, that’s roughly $3 to $10 USD, depending on unofficial exchange rates. Yes, you read that right.
Many caregivers, especially those who are not officially employed by the state, work informally, providing services to aging relatives or neighbors in exchange for food, clothing, soap, or even small handouts in Chinese yuan or USD if the family has access to foreign currency. So instead of a paycheck, a caregiver might be “paid” in:
- A few bowls of rice per week
- Homemade kimchi
- Firewood or coal for heating
- Secondhand clothes
- Access to better rations or foreign goods (for those in wealthier homes)
What Influences Caregiver Pay in North Korea?
1. City compared to Countryside: Urban caregivers especially in Pyongyang might receive more, thanks to better access to foreign goods, higher-ranking families, and underground markets. In rural areas, it’s often pure survival, not salary.
2. Political Status (Songbun): If you’re from a “trusted” family background with good political standing, you might land caregiving roles in more privileged settings. That could mean better food, gifts, and even cash.
3. Access to the Jangmadang (Market): North Korea’s semi-legal underground markets are where real economic life happens. Caregivers who operate near or within these spaces might earn extra through private arrangements.
4. Connections (Guanxi): Like much of the world, who you know matters. Being connected to a more powerful or wealthier family can mean better working conditions and “thank-you gifts” that surpass official pay.
SEE ALSO: Visa sponsorship Jobs in North Korea for foreigners
Is There Any Legal Protection for Caregivers?
Not really. North Korea doesn’t have a structured, transparent labor law system for private caregivers. Most caregiving is either done as a family obligation (with no pay at all), or under informal arrangements (with no legal contract or rights). You won’t find unions, grievance platforms, or minimum wage laws protecting individual caregivers. Most people operate in a grey zone between duty, survival, and hope for small rewards.
So Why Do People Still Do It?
Because caregiving isn’t always a “job” in North Korea, it’s often a survival role, a family duty, or a rare chance to be close to resources. For some women, especially older ones, caregiving offers a sliver of financial support through informal work when all other doors are closed.
Others do it as part of their assigned workplace duties in hospitals, orphanages, or senior homes and they have little to no say in what they’re paid or how they’re treated. It’s often a blend of ideology, discipline, and quiet resilience.
Legal & Ethical Issues Faced by Informal Caregivers in North Korea
When caregiving lives in the grey zone they are usually unseen, unregulated, and often unprotected. First, who are informal Caregivers in North Korea?
In North Korea, the term “informal caregiver” doesn’t carry the same professional weight as it might elsewhere. Here, it typically refers to ordinary people mostly women who care for the elderly, sick, or disabled, either within their own families or under low-key, unspoken arrangements in the neighborhood.
They’re not government-assigned doctors or nurses. They’re mothers, daughters, neighbors, and even strangers, quietly stepping in to help someone who can’t help themselves. But while their work is essential, it lives in a legal no-man’s-land.
1. There Are No Formal Labor Rights or Protections: There is no legal safety net for informal caregivers. Unlike other countries with caregiver contracts, minimum wage rules, or paid leave policies, North Korea doesn’t offer any legal framework for people in these roles. If someone gets injured while lifting a patient, works around the clock without sleep, or is unfairly dismissed or abused, there’s no hotline to call, no union to lean on, no court to file a complaint. It’s care work in silence and often, at risk.
2. Caregiving Is Often Treated as Unpaid Family Duty: In most households, especially outside Pyongyang, caregiving isn’t seen as a “job” at all. It’s expected, a moral and social obligation, especially for women. If a daughter cares for her aging father every day, she’s not praised or paid rather she’s simply “doing what’s right.” That sounds noble, sure, but it also means no financial reward, no emotional support, and no recognition for the caregiver. Over time, this can lead to burnout, depression, and even resentment all behind closed doors.
3. Gender Bias Fuels Ethical Concerns: Caregiving in North Korea, like in many places, is heavily gendered. It’s seen as “women’s work,” and that cultural norm is rarely questioned. Men are seldom expected to step in, and when they do, it’s considered exceptional. This creates an ethical imbalance:
- Women are overburdened
- Men are excused
- And society shrugs, as if that’s just the way it’s supposed to be
Caregivers deserve dignity regardless of gender and being boxed into a duty based on tradition alone is not only unfair, it’s unethical.
4. Silence Around Abuse and Exploitation: One of the darkest realities is that some informal caregivers face mistreatment, especially in wealthier homes where they work without contracts. They might be yelled at, overworked, underfed, or unpaid altogether. But here’s the thing, they often can’t report it, because:
- The work is informal
- There’s no paper trail
- Speaking up could mean punishment or worse
So, abuse gets buried. And the caregiver just carry on.
5. Zero Legal Recognition Equals Zero Benefits: There’s No ID, no insurance, no pension, and no time off. Informal caregivers in North Korea don’t receive benefits of any kind, even if they work full days or full-time. This creates long-term instability, especially for older caregivers who may spend years in service with nothing to fall back on later. They don’t retire, they just wear out.
6. Moral Dilemma (When Care Is Given Out of Need, Not Choice): Ethically speaking, many caregivers aren’t doing this because they want to but because they have no other option. With limited jobs and food shortages, caregiving becomes one of the few ways to stay useful, visible, or slightly supported. But is it really “voluntary” work if survival is the motivator? That’s where things get ethically messy.
7. No Oversight Leads to Care Quality Gaps: With no training requirements, oversight, or formal standards, the quality of care varies wildly. Some caregivers are intuitive and compassionate. Others simply don’t know how to handle medical needs not because they’re lazy, but because they’ve never been taught. This raises serious ethical issues:
- Is the patient getting safe care?
- Is the caregiver emotionally or physically harming them without realizing it?
- Who takes responsibility when something goes wrong?
The answer is there’s no one and that’s the problem. In North Korea, informal caregivers exist in a quiet crisis doing vital work in a space that the law pretends doesn’t exist. They give their time, energy, and care in a system that offers no formal structure, no legal backing, and no ethical guidelines. Their silence isn’t consent. It’s survival and while the world may not be able to change that overnight, shedding light on their reality is a start because even behind closed borders and closed mouths, every caregiver deserves to be seen, valued, and protected.
Conclusion
In a country where voices are hushed and choices are limited, the role of a caregiver doesn’t come with applause, awards, or even a paycheck you can count on. In North Korea, caregiving is often invisible which is a quiet, thankless rhythm of wiping brows, lifting bodies, preparing meals, and holding broken moments together. There are no contracts, no official titles, and certainly no labor rights. But there is effort, there is sacrifice and there is heart.
The caregiver here is not just a helper, they’re a survivor navigating a system that offers little in return. They move between love and duty, between hope and necessity. Sometimes, they’re family. Sometimes, they’re strangers. But always, they’re the ones holding the fragile threads of life together when no one else will.
Yes, the world may never see them. Their stories may never be printed, and their wages may barely exist but they matter. Every bowl of rice exchanged for a day’s work, every worn-out back bent in service, every whispered lullaby sung without promise of reward, it all carries weight.
So while the laws may ignore them and the systems may fail them, these caregivers remain quietly powerful doing what needs to be done, not for recognition, but because someone, somewhere, needs them to keep going and that, in itself, is an act of quiet, unshakable strength.
Frequently Asked Question (FAQs)
1. Do caregivers in North Korea actually get paid?
Honestly? Most don’t. Many caregivers work inside their own homes, looking after aging parents or sick relatives not as a job, but out of duty. For those who do it outside their families, payment (if any) is often informal maybe a few meals, old clothes, or foreign currency if they’re lucky. A regular paycheck? That’s rare.
2. What’s the “average salary” for a caregiver in North Korea?
If you want to talk numbers, state-employed caregivers may earn somewhere around ₩3,000–₩8,000 North Korean won per month which unofficially equals about $3 to $10 USD. But don’t take this as a fixed rate. Most “salaries” come in kind such as food, soap, fuel, or small goods from the black market.
3. Is caregiving a recognized profession in North Korea?
Not really. It exists, of course people need care but there’s no widespread recognition, licensing, or clear career path. Caregivers operate under the radar, often without formal training, job titles, or employment status.
4. Are there any labor laws protecting caregivers?
No. Informal caregivers aren’t protected by labor laws because, in most cases, they’re not seen as workers rather they are seen as just family members fulfilling a social obligation. There are no contracts, no sick leave, no pensions, and certainly no unions to fight for them.
5. Do caregivers in North Korea receive any benefits like food rations or housing?
Sometimes, if they’re working in state-run institutions. In those cases, they might get basic rations or housing but it’s usually minimal and tied to political loyalty or location. Private caregivers? They rely on whatever the patient’s family can offer.
6. Is it possible to negotiate for better pay as a caregiver in North Korea?
It depends on where you are and who you’re working for. In cities like Pyongyang, where foreign goods circulate more freely, some caregivers might manage to negotiate small payments or gifts. But in most areas, negotiation isn’t really a thing, you take what’s given, if anything.
7. Who usually becomes a caregiver in North Korea?
Mostly women. Daughters, wives, sisters, or older women in the neighborhood. There’s a cultural expectation that women step into this role not because they’re trained or asked, but because it’s “what’s expected.”
8. What happens if a caregiver gets sick or injured on the job?
They’re often on their own. There’s no workers’ compensation or government support. If they’re lucky, the family they care for might help a little but in most cases, injury means rest if you can afford it, or working through the pain if you can’t.
9. Is there any formal training available for caregivers?
Very little. Some caregivers working in hospitals or government-run homes may receive basic training, but the vast majority learn through experience or not at all. It’s mostly hands-on, passed down, or improvised.
10. Why do people still become caregivers if the pay and rights are so limited?
Because in many cases, they have no other choice. Jobs are scarce, especially for older women or those without strong political connections. Caregiving becomes the only way to stay useful or survive in a system that doesn’t offer many options.
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