The North Korean famine, also known as the Arduous March or the March of Suffering, was a period of mass starvation together with a general economic crisis from 1994 to 1998 in North Korea. During this time there was an increase in defection from North Korea which peaked towards the end of the famine period.
A South Korean relief caravan of 501 cattle in 50 vehicles bound for North Korea, Oct. 27, 1998.
A famine is a widespread scarcity of foodcaused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every inhabited continent in the world has experienced a period of famine throughout history. During the 19th and 20th century, Southeast and South Asia, as well as Eastern and Central Europe, suffered the greatest number of fatalities. Deaths caused by famine declined sharply beginning in the 1970s, with numbers falling further since 2000. Since 2010, Africa has been the most affected continent in the world by famine.
A woman, man, and child, all dead from starvation during the Russian famine of 1921–1922
Skibbereen, Ireland during the Great Famine, 1847 illustration by James Mahony for the Illustrated London News
People waiting for famine relief in Bangalore, India (from the Illustrated London News, 1877)
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, an 1887 painting by Russian artist Viktor Vasnetsov. Depicted from left to right are Death, Famine, War, and Conquest.