＜Inside N.Korea＞ Expansion of the market economy as the driving force behind social transformation--based on sources from inside N.Korea. (PART7) Information from outside being commodified and spread across the country. The government is losing control of the movement of citizens. by ISHIMARU Jiro

2016.12.28

So called “Notetell” device, a battery-operated and easy-to-use DVD player from China. It became popular around 2010 due to its mobility and convenience. June 2013, taken in a house of a reporting partner in the northern part of North Korea.

Since 2000, digitized video devices such as cheap Chinese CD and DVD players have become prevalent. The government did not originally regulate the devices itself. Perhaps it was because they can also be used for showing propaganda videos to its citizens.

South Korean TV programs, attracted the many North Korean viewers, and were the hottest items sold in the black markets. Since they made business profitable, the newest dramas were ones increasingly smuggled and disseminated all across the country. The countermeasure, called “eliminate the impure videos”, has been repeatedly taken by the government to crackdown on these DVDs, however, it has not yet been fully achieved. The market for outside information, which is based on the curiosity of the North Korean citizens, could not be put back in its box. A number of videos from South Korea, the eternal enemy of the North Korean state, have become prevalent in North Korea: a situation very much feared by the regime.
Related Article: ＜Inside N. Korea＞ Market survey shows “Resolution 2270”, the toughest-ever sanctions, didn’t work

5-4 The government is losing control of the movement of its citizens

There is no freedom of movement in North Korea. If one wants to leave his or her city for somewhere different a “travel pass” must be issued. A “travel pass” is issued by the Provisional People’s Committee of North Korea or by the police. Marriages, funerals, and a business trips were the only applicable reason for getting a pass in the past. Nowadays, however, only a small bribe is needed to get one. The transformation has been caused by the expansion of the black market, drastically increasing the demand for the transport of people and goods. [Note; Having said that, The Korean Demilitarized Zone, the de facto border between South Korea and North Korea as well as the Chinese border still maintains a harsh restriction of movement.] It can be said that the government has been losing control over the movement of citizens and goods. [To be continued in part 8]

＜Market Economy in N.Korea＞ View article sections

* Editor’s notes on North Korean reporters
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