North Korean media promotes traditional soups during record heat wave

Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean state media has promoted traditional foods, including dog-meat soup and chicken broth, as ways to cope with a heat wave that has brought the country’s highest recorded temperature.

State television reported on Thursday that temperatures reached 36.7 degrees Celsius, the highest since weather recordings began in North Korea.

Heat wave coverage

With tropical nights accompanying the heat, state media has given unusual attention to the hottest weeks of the year, known locally as sambok, or the dog days of summer.

North Korea has not released data on heat-related deaths. Neighbouring South Korea has reported more than 20 deaths linked to the heat wave.

Food recommendations

In a health feature published on August 2, the ruling Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun quoted a doctor at Pyongyang General Hospital recommending cooling foods including watermelon, cucumbers and mung beans.

The doctor also recommended what the newspaper described as nutritious foods, including dog-meat soup, fish porridge and red-bean porridge.

Rodong Sinmun published a separate feature on dog-meat soup, describing it as a traditional summertime food and citing an old saying that even spilled dog-meat soup becomes medicine during the dog days of summer.

The report also noted that a national dog-meat cooking competition had been held earlier this year.

Chicken soup and health advice

The Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday praised samgyetang, a chicken soup containing ginseng, glutinous rice and jujubes, reporting that Pyongyang restaurants were attracting customers seeking relief from the heat.

Korean Central Television also aired segments on health management during extreme heat, recommending hydrating drinks and offering advice on swimming and outdoor exercise.

State media coverage has also portrayed leader Kim Jong Un as enduring harsh conditions alongside the public.