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Salient. Victoria University Students' Newspaper. Volume 38, Number 16. July 9 1975

Inflation

Inflation

The average south Korean worker begins on $US45 a month for 10 hour day, six day week. Inflation is pushing up prices of all necessities. Rice was up 54% in February compared with a year ago, while other necessities were up 35% to 60%. In Seoul and other cities, rice in 1974 was three times what it was at the end of 1973. South Korea is only 70% self-sufficient in food.

About 80% of all peasant households are short of food. In Seoul alone 47% of the population of almost 2 million is homeless or without a home of their own, in a country where shacks and dilapidated huts are "homes".

The Democratic People s Republic of Korea founded on September 6, 1948, took the socialist road of development. It has made rapid progress in industry, agriculture, and health, science and technology, art and literature, and international relations, becoming an important part of the Third World and the front opposing US imperialism and Japanese militarism in the Far East. For the last ten years industrial production has grown at almost 13% per annum Grain output has grown twice as fast as the population since 1948. In April 1974 sweeping price reductions averaging 30% were made in consumer goods and income tax was abolished.