International students were surprised by the fare hike, but said that exchange rate makes it “almost nothing.”
By Jamin Anderson for RFA Korean
The cost of a ticket on the subway in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang has nearly tripled, Radio Free Asia has learned, after international students revealed it on Chinese social media.
The rate hike was revealed by Chinese international students studying at Kim Il Sung University, considered by North Koreans to be the country’s most prestigious educational institution.
In posts on the social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, the students said they were surprised by the price increase upon returning to Pyongyang from China after summer break.
Their posts reveal that the cost of a ride on the subway is now 400 won (.56 US cents) about 2.7 times the last known price of 150 won (.21 cents), which was confirmed at the end of 2024.
Though the increase from a fraction of one cent to a larger fraction of one cent might sound negligible to most visitors to Pyongyang, for those who live there, the price increase was felt.
“I paid 5,000 won (7 cents) at the ticket counter as usual, but I only received about 13 tickets back instead of the 30 or so tickets from before,” wrote one of the international students, using the account name that translates to “Sky, the azure planet.”
Another student, with a username that translates to “Dr. Un Jong” noted the increase, but didn’t seem to think it was that significant.
The price of a North Korean subway ticket has risen from 150 won to 400 won,” Dr. Un Jong wrote. “It seems like inflation has increased the price several times, but when converted using the exchange rate, it is very cheap, so it is no different from paying almost nothing at all.”
Rapid increase
Fare hikes are unusual for the Pyongyang subway, where a ride had only cost 5 won for decades.
The first significant increase was documented in 2024 by a Russian travel YouTuber Viktor, who visited North Korea in November 2024, and in his video, purchased a subway ticket for 150 won.
Experts said the most recent increase is closely related to a decline in currency value resulting from the North Korean government printing money for state projects.
North Korea’s won-dollar exchange rate has skyrocketed by 377% over the two years since the first quarter of 2024, Lim Su-ho, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Security Strategy, said in a report in April.
Lim said the cause was authorities printing a massive amount of currency when they raised wages starting at the end of 2023, and to secure funds for the large-scale national development projects.
Edited by Eugene Whong
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