From late August to early October North Korea conducts extensive pine mushroom harvesting across the country. Taking part in the activities are not only residents in mountainous regions, but also military personnel. Even helicopters are mobilized in the Mount Chilbo area of North Hamgyong province and the Hongwon region of South Hamgyong, the largest area for pine mushroom cultivation in the North.

Military servicemen protect some mountains in North and South Hamgyong provinces, which are called “pine mushroom fields.” The authorities purchase pine mushrooms collected by ordinary citizens in return for such daily necessaries as sportswear, socks, rice and edible oil. People are encouraged to scour pine mushrooms at any mountains likely to produce them and to collect even one cluster of them. During the harvest season, all laborers in affected regions are mobilized for the harvesting, setting aside their routine jobs. But ordinary people - not professionals - often fail to collect any pine mushrooms in days.

No pine mushrooms grow under any pine trees. They grow at certain heights of mountains where pine groves enjoy sunshine and wetness. Finding a mushroom sprouting from a pinecone gives one the pleasure of collecting the precious medicinal herb, wild ginseng. During pine mushroom harvesting, other medicinal herbs are collected too.

Pine mushrooms are a main foreign exchange earning source for North Korea. Ordinary citizens found consuming or smuggling them are liable to be charged with political crime or treason. The North exports them mainly to Japan, the exports of which drastically declined from US$23.13 million in 1997 to US$18.63 million in 1998 and US$6.17 million in 1999. The sharp fall is ascribed to imprudent harvesting and illicit selling by merchants.

To help a pine mushroom grow again the next year, the site from which one is harvested must be covered with dirt without fail. Until 1985 only skilled collectors had been allowed to collect pine mushrooms. Due to reckless harvesting since then, the pine mushroom fields have been hurt seriously, say North Korean escapees who have come to the South.

Quantities of the mushrooms are smuggled out to China at some border towns, according to defectors. At marketplaces in Yenji across the border, one can find North Korean pine mushrooms with ease. A Korean-Chinese merchant says that during the pine mushroom harvesting season crackdowns are intensified along the North Korean border with China. North Korean authorities find it hard to prevent merchants from selling them to smugglers, who pay them much more than the authorities, he added.

(Kang Chol Hwan, nkch@chosun.com )