When waves bring trash onto the beaches of South Korean islands, Kang Dong Wan can often be found hunting for what he calls his 'treasure' — rubbish from North Korea that provides a peek into a place that’s shut to most outsiders.
“Current North Korean residents are a generation of people who’ve come to realize what the market and economy are. Kim can’t win their support if he only suppresses and controls them while sticking to a nuclear development program,” Kang said. “He needs to show there are some changes in his era.”
Kang said he was amazed to see dozens of different kinds of colorful packaging materials, each for certain products like seasonings, ice cream bars, snack cakes and milk and yogurt products. Many carry a variety of graphic elements, cartoon characters and lettering fonts. Some still can seem out of date by Western standards and are apparent copycats of South Korean and Japanese designs.
Plastic bags for detergents have phrases like “the friend of housewives” or “accommodating women.” Because the assumption is that only women do such work, it could be a reflection of the low status of women in male-dominated North Korean society. Kang Mi-Jin, another defector who runs a company analyzing North Korea’s economy, said that when she had South Koreans try new North Korean cookies and candies in blind taste tests, they thought they were South Korean. But Ahn, the website head, said the North Korean cookie he obtained in 2019 was “tasteless.”
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Professor uses trash as a treasure to study life in North KoreaA professor's findings are said to confirm that North Korean state media reports are true, that the country has been producing a variety of consumer goods on the orders of leader Kim Jong Un.
Read more »
US Government Warns Further Crypto Attacks From North Korea Following Axie Infinity HackHalborn Co-founder Steven Walbroehl discusses North Korea’s involvement in the over $600 million hack of Axie Infinity’s Ronin network and the role of blockchain analytics in uncovering the perpetrators. Walbroehl explains the probability of the funds being recovered, the use of social engineering, and the Lazarus group’s history of perpetrating online attacks. Plus, a conversation about the recent $182 million exploit of the Beanstalk stablecoin protocol.
Read more »
Fire burning in South Platte River bottom north of BrushCrews from several fire departments are responding to a wildfire burning in the South Platte River area near Morgan County Road 28 north of Brush, Colorado.
Read more »
North Texas Man Delivering Bulletproof Vests to UkraineA North Texas man will begin a journey this week to deliver ballistic vests to those who need them in Ukraine.
Read more »
Multiple NJ TRANSIT buses burn in North BergenSmoke could be seen from miles away as buses burned at a bus storage facility near Tonnelle Avenue and 18th Street.
Read more »
Missing North Texas teen was a sex trafficking victim in Oklahoma, police sayThe Texas teen went to the restroom alone at a Mavericks game and never returned to her seat. Police believe she left voluntarily and ended up 200 miles away. Police say a registered sex offender then prostituted the 15-year-old through online ads.
Read more »