North Korean Economy Watch

Read more at Oikono.

From GPI Consulting:

In the current financial and economic situation, companies face many challenges. They must cut costs, develop new products and find new markets. In these fields, North-Korea might be an interesting option. Inspired by the economic successes of its neighbouring country China, North-Korea has since a few years opened its doors to foreign enterprises. It established several free trade zones to attract foreign investors and there are several sectors, including textile industry, shipbuilding, agro business, logistics, renewable energy, mining and Information Technology, that can be considered for trade and investment.

North-Korea is competing with other Asian countries by offering skilled labor for very low monthly wages and by offering tax incentives.  Last year, North-Korea’s exports rose with 23 percent and its imports with 32 percent. Do you want to explore new business opportunities for your company? Then join us from 19 – 26 September 2009 on our trade & investment mission to North-Korea. The program includes individual matchmaking, company visits, network receptions and dinners. Furthermore, we will visit the annual Autumn International Trade Fair in Pyongyang (see photo). We will also meet European business people who are working and living in North-Korea.
 
The mission is meant for entrepreneurs from various business sectors; tailormade meetings will be arranged by our local partner, the DPRK Chamber of Commerce. The program of this unique mission has been attached and we can be contacted for further details. In case you want to participate: please register as soon as possible, so we can start the visa-application procedure.
 
With best regards,
Paul Tjia (sr. consultant ‘global sourcing’)
GPI Consultancy, P.O. Box 26151, 3002 ED Rotterdam, The Netherlands
E-mail: paul@gpic.nl tel: +31-10-4254172  fax: +31-10-4254317 Website: www.gpic.nl
 
N.B. some examples of investment opportunities in North-Korea:  
http://www.gpic.nl/invest(hungsong).pdf and http://www.gpic.nl/invest(clock).pdf 

GPI’s marketing flyer is here.

In a recent Korea Times article, Andrei Lankov (citing Brian Myers) highlights how the DPRK has changed the narrative of its raison d’être in response to the growing realization among its people that South Korea is not the poor, exploited US colony the propaganda portrays it to be. 

Quoting from the article:

Until some time a decade ago, the North Korean populace was expected and required to believe in a very simple world picture.

The North, led by the glorious dynasty of omniscient and benevolent rulers, was the best society on the face of the Earth, much envied and glorified by the less fortunate peoples of other countries.

The rest of the world was inferior, though people in the socialist countries admittedly fared better than the helpless inhabitants of the capitalist hell.

But worst of all was South Korea, the colony of the U.S. imperialists who exploited it with unparalleled brutality.

However, around 2000 the North Korean watchers (well, actually a handful of them with the time and ability to read the official press systematically) began to notice a new image of the South emerge.

Brian Myers, the ever observant reader of North Korean press and fiction first noticed the signs of this quiet transformation when it was only beginning.

Soon it became clear that he was right. A new propaganda line was being born. Interestingly, this time the new line was introduced not through newspapers, but in a more subtle way, through works of fiction, which also have to be approved by the supreme ideological authorities.

The new South Korea which emerged in these writings wasn’t so poor. Actually, it was not poor at all. The characters in recent North Korean novels, which deal with the imaginary life of the South, enjoy a lifestyle far superior to that of the average North Korean. They drive cars, dine out easily and live in expensive houses.

As Myers pointed out, the North Korean authors have poor ideas of how expensive Seoul real estate has become, so they sometimes overestimate South Korean’s income levels. In one novel, a young South Korean journalist buys a house in a very expensive neighborhood after merely a few years of work.

Does this mean that the new image of the South is positive? Of course not! South Korean society might be rich, the propaganda operators say, but it is still inferior to the North.

The South Koreans had to pay a terrible price for their success: they were deprived of their precious national identity.

The cultural uniqueness and racial purity of the great Korean nation has become endangered. Mixed marriages are mentioned frequently and in a way that makes readers believe they are between the same lusty Americans and young Korean women.

However, the propaganda insists, the South Koreans themselves are not happy about this situation. They dream about liberation and purification, and their hopes are pinned on Pyongyang and, above all, the Dear Leader himself. In recent years, North Korean propaganda has insisted that Kim Jong -il is worshipped in the South. Similar statements were made earlier as well.

According to this new logic, the North is a torchbearer, a proud protector of nationhood and racial purity. South Korean prosperity is tainted and hence should not be envied.

The North must fight for the ultimate salvation of the South, and such salvation can be achieved only through unification under the North Korean auspices, so all South Koreans will be able to enjoy the loving care of the Dear Leader. Only American troops and a handful of national traitors prevent this dream from coming true.

Lankov (and Myers) speculate that the North Korean government changed the narrative in response to unauthorized information permeating the country.  In a related note, the overt propaganda in many North Korean films has also been reduced in recent decades.

Most importantly, Lankov reminds us that nationalism is not a viable long-term political strategy—even in North Korea.  North Korean Juche was supposed to liberate the Korean people and deliver on material progress, but it has not succeeded.  From top to bottom, many North Koreans already know this.

From GPI:

For many entrepreneurs, North-Korea is a relatively unknown trade destination. For this reason, from 28 September to 4 October 2008, a Dutch economic delegation investigated the business climate in this country. You may download a short report of this unique mission here.  Because of its success, another mission will be organised in 2009.
  
The participants noticed trade and investments in several fields, including textile and garments, shipbuilding, agribusiness, logistics, mining, animation and Information Technology. The findings of the mission will be presented at the seminar “Doing business with North-Korea”, which will take place in The Hague in spring 2009. A videofilm about the tour will be shown as well.
  
If you are interested in business opportunities in North-Korea, or in joining a seminar or trade mission, please contact us for further details. It is also possible for us to give presentations at business seminars abroad, in order to present the findings of the Dutch mission in more detail.
 
With best regards,
Paul Tjia (sr. consultant ‘offshore sourcing’)
GPI Consultancy, P.O. Box 26151, 3002
ED Rotterdam, The Netherlands
E-mail: paul@gpic.nl
tel: +31-10-4254172 
fax: +31-10-4254317
Website: www.gpic.nl
report_dutch_trade_mission_to_north_korea.pdf

The North Korean children’s cartoon “Yon-pil-po-lan” (link here and below) is a great example of the role that sate-controlled media plays in the socialist system: regime enhancement.  In this cartoon, a young pioneer dreams of using his school supplies to fight off the “Mi-jae (Miguk jugukjui)”—or “American imperialist”. 

The cartoon itself made me laugh because I have a feeling that the actual state of the DPRK’s military technology is probably not far off from that shown in this cartoon!

North Korea Uncovered: Version 12
Download it here

About this Project: This map covers North Korea’s agriculture, aviation, cultural locations, markets, manufacturing facilities, energy infrastructure, political facilities, sports venues, military establishments, religious facilities, leisure destinations, national parks, shipping, mining, and railway infrastructure. It is continually expanding and undergoing revisions. This is the 12th version.

Additions include: Tongch’ang-dong launch facility overlay (thanks to Mr. Bermudez), Yongbyon overlay with destroyed cooling tower (thanks to Jung Min Noh), “The Barn” (where the Pueblo crew were kept), Kim Chaek Taehung Fishing Enterprise, Hamhung University of education, Haeju Zoo, Pyongyang: Kim il Sung Institute of Politics, Polish Embassy, Munsu Diplomatic Store, Munsu Gas Station, Munsu Friendship Restaurant, Mongolian Embassy, Nigerian Embassy, UN World Food Program Building, CONCERN House, Czech Republic Embassy, Rungnang Cinema, Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, Pyongyang Number 3 Hospital, Electric Machines Facotry, Bonghuajinlyoso, Second National Academy of Sciences, Central Committee Building, Party Administration Building, Central Statistics Bureau, Willow Capital Food House, Thongounjong Pleasure Ground, Onpho spa, Phipa Resort Hotel, Sunoni Chemical Complex (east coast refinery), Ponghwa Chemical complex (west coast refinery), Songbon Port Revolutionary Monument, Hoeryong People’s Library, Pyongyang Monument to the anti Japanese martyrs, tideland reclamation project on Taegye Island. Additionally the electricity grid was expanded and the thermal power plants have been better organized. Additional thanks to Ryan for his pointers.

I hope this map will increase interest in North Korea. There is still plenty more to learn, and I look forward to receiving your contributions to this project.

Version 12 available: Download it here

North Korean Posters is a colorful and engaging book for those interested in North Korean, communist, or socialist-realism art. Portraying over 250 North Korean posters from the past fifty years, along with English and German translations, the book is the most comprehensive collection of North Korean political art of which I am aware.

Each page offers vivid images of the values and goals the regime has tried, and continues to try, to instill in its own people.  In order to help readers, particularly those who did not grow up under socialism, get a sense of the themes highlighted in communist political propaganda, the art work is grouped into categories: Constructing the People’s Paradise, Undeterred Defiance (military), Loyalty and Devotion, Defending the Revolution, and United We Stand.

This colleciton was put together by a gentleman named David Heather, who according to Forbes:

… first encountered such work [...] when he met a North Korean painter exhibiting at an art fair in Harare, Zimbabwe in 2000. They kept in touch, and in 2004 Heather accepted his friend’s invitation to visit the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and to get a tour of his atelier: the state-run Mansudae Art Studio. In truth it’s more factory than studio. The complex, says Heather, covers 30 acres and houses around 1,000 artists making paintings, posters and other artwork, including nonideological pottery. Their output is used to decorate public buildings and subways, or is given as gifts to state officials.

While some posters are reproduced as prints, most are copied up to 100 times each by hand. Rarely are two such copies identical; each qualifies as an original artwork. North Koreans, says Heather, are used to doing many tasks by hand. On public lawns, for example, he has seen people cutting grass with scissors.

“I looked around the studios and had certain ideas,” says Heather, whose previous ventures include a child care business in the U.K. that failed in the 1990s. Before leaving Pyongyang he signed a contract with the studio to find markets for its artwork outside Asia.

Starting in 2004 he began shipping hundreds of works of art to London. He rented a gallery in Pall Mall and hoisted a North Korean flag outside. In 2007 he unveiled a public exhibition of his collection–the biggest ever of North Korean art outside Korea. “I was expecting demonstrations outside, people camping out, protests.” Instead he sold–from this exhibit and from a second, smaller one at London’s Foyles bookshop–some 100 propaganda posters, 30 paintings and 5 or 6 pieces of pottery. Most buyers were American. He says he hauled in a total of $220,000 for pieces he had bought for $50,000.

A few posters in the book will be familiar to DPRK visitors, since they often appear at prominent locations.  I commissioned two paintings in Pyongyang, and they are both in this book.  A few others can be seen in travelers’ photos. If you are interested in ordering the book, click here.  To learn a little more about how North Korean art is produced, order Art Under Control in North Korea here.  If you are interested in buying authentic North Korean paintings, contact the Pyongyang Art Studio.

UPDATE: Here are some exapmles from the BBC.

I am told that in the 1980s Tom and Jerry was a poplar show on DPRK and USSR state television.  In the DPRK they even kept the names Tom and Jerry.

Netherlands Centrum voor Handelsbevordering
27 September – 4 October 2008  
View the information flyer with more information here: it-tour_dprk.pdf

For the past decades, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) also known as North-Korea has been one of the most isolated countries in the world. Until recently, foreign companies could hardly enter this country. Inspired by the economic successes of its neighbouring country China, North-Korea has since a few years opened its doors for foreign enterprises. The DPRK established several free trade zones to attract foreign investors. In 2002 North Korea started to experiment with the Kaesong Industrial Region, near the South-Korean border. Moreover, other areas were designated as Special Administrative Regions, such as Sinŭiju near the border with China.
 
Currently, China and South-Korea are the most important trade partners of North-Korea; their mutual trade is growing fast. Also for European companies there are many opportunities to trade with North-Korea. During the recent seminar: ‘Doing Business with North-Korea’ (The Hague, 30 May) the representative from North-Korea highlighted that there are business opportunities in several fields, including Textile Industry, Shipbuilding, Agro Business, Logistics and Information Technology.

DPRK finds itself at the beginning of a new era of openness. In North-Korea there is a need for many foreign products and investments. The Chamber of Commerce Amsterdam, GPI Consultancy and the Netherlands Council for Trade Promotion are organizing an economic mission to investigate the business opportunities for foreign companies in this country. This unique economic mission to North-Korea will take place from 27 September to 4 October 2008. Our partner in North-Korea is the Pyongyang Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Renze Hasper, Member of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce Amsterdam, will be the mission leader of this economic mission. 
 
The program includes individual matchmaking, company visits, network receptions and dinners. Furthermore, a visit is being planned tot the Kaesong Industrial Region.

GPI Consultancy is responsable for the IT-program of the mission. As an example, the program for the IT-delegates has been attached; they will visit firms in Pyongyang in the field of software development, animation, cartoons, computer games and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing). Similar matchmaking visits will be arranged for delegates from other business sectors.
  
The mission is open for participants from other countries as well.
If you are interested in joining this trade mission, please contact:

Paul Tjia
GPI Consultancy
P.O. Box 26151,
3002 ED Rotterdam,
The Netherlands
E-mail: paul@gpic.nl
tel: +31-10-4254172 
fax: +31-10-4254317
Website: www.gpic.nl 

The article is badly translated, but [seemingly] according to the People’s Daily (h/t Go East) China is looking to outsource programming/animation services to North Korean workers in Dandong:

The main reason to select Dandong city as the China-North Korea animation game service outsourcing base is aimed to draw North Korea’s animation game talents to Dandong. Xu Aiqiao, chairwoman of the Hangzhou national animation game public service platform limited, said that North Korea has become the global animation industry processing “plant”.

With a total staff of 2,500, the base will not only reduce at least 5,000 yuan per minute for the production costs of animation companies, but inject more energy into the creative plans, original scripts, and other areas of China’s high-end animation talents of the animation game.

Read the full article here:
Hangzhou game service outsourcing base to make up 80 pct of domestic animation production
People’s Daily
4/29/2008