N. Koreans increasingly seek out homegrown electronics
North Korea is seeing an increase in demand for homegrown electronics, outpacing past preferences for Chinese or South Korean products, Daily NK has learned.
North Koreans have long purchased TVs, electric rice cookers, refrigerators, fans and heaters imported or smuggled from China or even South Korea.
South Korean products sold in local markets typically have had their brand names obscured or forged to look like they came from China. Sellers would generally verbally tell buyers where the products really came from.
North Korean products are now increasingly sought out by locals, however, partly because of their cheaper prices and growing variety; other times, they are the only products available because of international sanctions and – more recently – the shutdown of the Sino-North Korean border.
INCREASING PREFERENCE FOR HOMEGROWN PRODUCTS
“There are now TVs branded with the names of North Korean manufacturers like Arirang, Mallima and Yomyong,” a South Pyongan Province-based source told Daily NK on Mar. 31. ......
[Source: Daily NK]
