A Taste of Convenience Lures North Korean People
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Although microwaves for housewives, running shoes for kids and color TVs for the whole family are still far from reality for most households in North Korea, experts and visitors to the reclusive state say its consumer market has turned for the better, as flirting with capitalism continues.
A July 2006 Citigroup report details that North Korea has made ``significant progress'' in improving the decision-making independence for enterprises, increasing the role of free markets, liberalizing the exchange rate policy and opening the economy.
``The North's reforms are probably broadly comparable to those of China in the mid- to late 1980s,'' said the U.S. banking group.
In China 20 years ago, locals were slowly shifting from poverty toward comfort, as the socialist state emerged from isolation to integration. Demand for commodities, including electronics, personal care products, sterilizers and computers, were on the rise, and even lifestyle magazines, including Elle and Cosmopolitan, fought to skim the cream off the growing market.
Despite the hopeful comparison, however, the bankrupt communist state up North isn't quite there yet.
``There are sizable department stores in the capital city that carry various Chinese and Japanese goods, including computers and fashion wear,'' a source who visited North Korea some 30 times told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.
He said that surprisingly the selection is quite extensive, but the problem is that only an extremely select few can afford those goods.
``Just like other parts of the world, fashion is also trendy in Pyongyang and South Korean-made outfits are most popular among women,'' he said. ``However, the labels are cut off before they're sold.''
The reason, he explained, is because a crackdown on South Korean products is still severe, so buying or selling goods from Seoul can result in harsh punishment.
``Consequently, the underground market has flourished over time and wealthy customers know where to find products that are made in Korea and Japan, which they consider to be premium,'' he said, listing glasses and belts as most sought after items there.
The Daily NK, an online news site focused on North Korea, recently reported that a local electric rice-cooker ``Cuckoo'' was the hottest seller, followed by instant water heaters, cosmetics, aromatics, computers, toothpaste, medical goods and a variety of confectionary.
In the Shinuiju market, South Korean toothpaste retails at 5,000 won and a pack of Time cigarettes costs around 3,000 won, it said.
And while an average bicycle, made by China's Tianjin's Digital, costs around $26, a pair of leather shoes could cost as much as $330, according to another online newspaper Asia Times.
The source, who has seen Pyongyang transform since his first visit almost two decades ago, confirmed these figures, adding that water purifiers are also pricey, but usage is expanding throughout the bigger cities.
Currently, Beijing is Pyongyang's biggest trading partner with bilateral trade jumping 5.4 percent in the first 11 months of 2006 to around $1.54 billion. And about 150 Chinese companies operate in the neighboring state, which experts say have been helping fuel the spread of consumer goods in the impoverished nation.