Silk, steam and slogans: inside a North Korean factory

PYONGYANG // As the morning light poured through large windows, women wearing olive-coloured overalls, pink aprons and headscarves stood at stations where silkworms were being boiled. Some used their bare hands to pull silk thread from the boilers and winced as the steam rose toward their faces.

But the heat did not seem to slow them down.

The Kim Jong-suk silk mill, named after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s grandmother, is where 1,600 workers – mostly women – sort and process silkworms.

The worms, from the countryside in South Pyongan province, ultimately produce silk thread that officials at the Pyongyang factory say is made into roughly 200 tons of silk a year.

Seen prominently on a red-and-white sign hanging above a main corridor was a propaganda slogan: “Let us step up the victorious advancement of socialism through self-development!”

Lining the walkway were names of supervisors and workers that were leading teams, placed as a form of encouragement for the workers.

In his New Year’s address, Mr Kim Jong-un called on the North Korean people to step up production in order to raise the nation’s standard of living, which is among the lowest in Asia. Mr Kim himself visited the silk mill in early January.

In early January, though the temperature outside was minus 6°C, there was little heating in the high-ceilinged building.

And though it was noisy – both from the machinery and from loudspeakers blasting propaganda music – no one seemed to be wearing ear plugs.

Groups of eight to ten women stood before heavy machinery along the processing line, sorting out silkworms as they were being washed and later boiled.

In another room, women examined sheets of unfinished silk with tweezers, looking for impurities as a glowing tabletop illuminated their faces.

The mill was proud to showcase its “sci-tech centre”, where workers could take classes conducted via an intranet system.

It also boasted a childcare facility where 200 children are enrolled while their mothers work at the factory.

* Associated Press

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Mia Man’s tips for fermentation

- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut

- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.

- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.

- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

MATCH INFO

Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:

Al Ain 2 Al Duhail 4

Second leg:

Tuesday, Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha. Kick off 7.30pm

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills