Hundreds of starved North Koreans forage for food on the streets. The North Korean government violates the people’s right to food through unequal distribution of food portions, thus causing hundreds of people to move into the streets and beg for food. Oppressed in the shadows, one of the most prevalent groups of the North Korean homeless population are young teens and children as young as three years old.
The homeless children who scrounge the streets in North Korea are called “Kkotjebi (꽃제비).” The origin of the title “Kkotjebi” is unclear, but there has been several studies that state that it comes from the term “кочевье (Kočevje),” which means “wanderer” in Russian.
There have also been speculations that ethnic Koreans living in China (“Josun-jok (조선족)”) derived the name from “jabi,” which refers to thieves who steal wallets. The Koreans have also said that “jebi” is a term for swallows; swallows constantly search for warmer areas-alike the children who wander and search for better lives. Moreover, “花子 (huāzi),” in Mandarin, means “beggar” or “tramp.” “花 (huā)” is a term for “flower,” while “Kkot (꽃)” is also a term for flower in Korean. Thus, there have been strong beliefs that “Kkotjebi” was derived from the ethnic Koreans in China who used Mandarin Chinese.
Little Tramps
by Iris Song