North Korea pressures donju into 'patriotic rice' donations

North Korea pressures donju into 'patriotic rice' donations

North Korean authorities are pressuring wealthy private traders known as donju — loosely translated as “masters of money,” referring to a class of entrepreneurs who accumulated capital through North Korea’s informal market economy — to donate rice to the state under the banner of “patriotic rice” contributions. A Daily NK source in Ryanggang province said on Monday that the practice has been intensifying in Hyesan, where affluent traders are bei…