North Korea’s new school stalls draw student fans but leave vendors counting losses

Small vendor stalls have begun appearing outside schools in parts of North Korea, offering students and teachers a convenient place to buy snacks, stationery, and hygiene products. But for the operators running them, the stalls are proving more symbolic than profitable.

A Daily NK source in North Hamgyong province said Monday that a number of schools in the Rason Special Economic Zone have recently set up service stalls in front of their buildings. Modeled loosely on the small school supply shops common in South Korea, the stalls sell basic food items such as sweets and beverages alongside stationery and personal care products, with the stated aim of making necessities more accessible to students and teachers alike.

During morning drop-offs and afternoon dismissals, students can be seen gathering at the stalls to buy snacks or pick up pens and notebooks. Teachers have responded positively as well, welcoming the ability to purchase supplies for their classrooms and offices without leaving school grounds.

A service in name only

The welcome is less warm among the vendors themselves. Operators say the stalls carry far stricter health and sanitation inspections than ordinary market stalls, and that enforcement of prohibited items is noticeably tighter given their proximity to schools. Most significantly, tobacco and alcohol — staples of profit at general market stalls — are entirely off the table at school-front locations.

“If you go into this thinking you’ll make money, you’ll regret it,” one operator told the source, in a remark echoed across vendors in the area. The restrictions, combined with the limited buying power of their primary customer base, make turning a profit close to impossible.

Students in North Korea do not typically carry much spending money. The source noted that children rarely have enough cash on hand to buy snacks or school supplies with any regularity. “A few coins here and there for a small snack, or an occasional pencil — that’s not enough to keep a stall running,” the source said.

Vendors have taken to describing the work with a wry expression, calling it bongsa — literally, “service” — with a note of resignation. Maintaining basic operations, let alone generating income, has proven a struggle.

Yet the stalls themselves represent a genuine shift in everyday school life. A generation ago, the idea of buying a snack or a sanitary pad steps from the school gate was unthinkable. Students who needed supplies had to go home or search out a shop. Now, during a break between classes, they can handle it on the spot. Parents have responded warmly to the change, and the stalls’ inclusion of hygiene products for female students has drawn particular appreciation.

“Before, students had to go home or hunt down a shop to get what they needed,” the source said. “Now they can sort it out in a break. Parents are pleased too.”

The development fits a broader pattern of education-sector improvements that have followed the 11th Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), held Dec. 23–27, 2024. Strengthening the material foundations of education was a core agenda item at that meeting, and subsequent months have seen school facilities repaired, equipment upgraded, and convenience measures introduced for students and teaching staff.

Longer-term viability for the stalls will likely depend on a change in spending habits. The source noted a gradual shift in how some parents approach school supplies, with a growing number choosing to give children a small allowance and let them make purchases themselves rather than buying items directly. If that trend takes hold and students begin visiting the stalls with more regularity, operators say the outlook could improve. For now, though, the stalls remain more a sign of changing times than a going concern.

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