In-depth Analysis of Marketization trend of Dental Health Care System in North Korea

Lee, Songhyun; Jeon, Jung Hee; Lee, Kee-Joon

doi:2021.59.6.320

J Korean Dent Assoc > Volume 59(6); 2021 > Article

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The Journal of The Korean Dental Association 2021;59(6):320-333.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22974/jkda.2021.59.6.001 Published online May 31, 2021.

북한 구강의료의 시장화경향에 대한 심층분석

이송현¹

, 전정희²

, 이기준¹

^¹연세대학교 치과대학 치과교정과학교실
^²이화여자대학교 간호대학

In-depth Analysis of Marketization trend of Dental Health Care System in North Korea

Songhyun Lee¹

, Jung Hee Jeon²

, Kee-Joon Lee¹

¹Department of Orthodontics, Yonsei University College of dentistry
²Ewha Womans University College of Nursing

Correspondence: Kee-Joon Lee, Tel: +82-2-2228-3105, Fax: +82-2-363-3404,
Email: orthojn@yuhs.ac

Received: 18 January 2021 • Revised: 16 February 2021 • Accepted: 10 March 2021

Abstract

Currently the unofficial health care system is growing in North Korea as the socialist public free medical treatment system is not working properly due to the prolonged economic recession. In the Kim Jong-Un era, the North Korean government has been making investments in the medical sector recommending policies for the devel-opment of the health care system. Suggestions such as the establishment of a health care system and large scale hospitals have been discussed, but the public and private systems are unbalanced in all the medical segments where the private sector seems to be growing at a faster pace. Such examples would be the pharmaceutical supply and medical delivery systems. A survey of in-depth interviews with 53 North Korean defectors who resided at Hanawon, South Korea in 2020 revealed that dentistry, particularly the prosthetic sector, is recognized mostly as private paying care and is rapidly growing. Overall oral healthcare, including dental care, is provided in private facilities of dental care providers outside the current public healthcare system. The growth and demand for dental care is supported in that it is observed very few patients who had missing teeth had received prosthetic treatment before 2010, while nearly half of those with lost teeth received prosthetic treatments at a personal private cost after 2018. Through this research, it is evaluated there is a strong growing demand for dental care in North Korea, and unofficial private dental care is filling the need as the current government system is inadequate.

Key Words: North Korea; Oral healthcare; marketization trend