Party Congress reveals new indicator of wealth

Following last month’s Party Congress
during which large numbers of flat screen televisions were given to attendees,
demand for electronic products has surged among other elites looking to keep up
with a new benchmark for social status, Daily NK has learned.
 

“The 45-inch LED TVs distributed to all
congress participants drew a lot of attention and is fueling the demand for
electronic goods,” a source from South Pyongan Province told Daily NK on
Monday. “Having the latest television set is now seen as a symbol of wealth, so
that’s why you’re seeing cadres going out of their way to buy these goods ahead
of others.”
 

“Average households in Pyongyang are
showing interest in ‘Achim’ (the Korean word for morning) screens assembled by
a local enterprise called “Achim Computer,” [which uses North Korean labor to
assemble Chinese goods]. But high-ranking cadres prefer ‘real’ imported
televisions made by Sony, LG, or Samsung,” the source added.
 

Televisions are only one element of the
electronics frenzy. Rather than foodstuffs, the cross-border train connecting
Pyongyang and Beijing is primarily loaded with air conditioners, air purifiers,
dehumidifiers, and other electronic goods.
 

This trend reflects the growing importance
that North Koreans are placing on material possessions to cement their social
status and power. In today’s North Korea, lavish spending confers influence and
is the driving force behind the stratification of the country’s socioeconomic
ladder.
 

Many on the lower rungs of the system seek
to display their wealth with mobile phones. University students, for example,
are going to increasing lengths to buy mobile handsets irrespective of actual
need or financial constraints, simply to achieve the perception of affluence.
 

“After the Party Congress, people are
saying that you need a flat screen in order to be considered well-off,” a
source in Pyongyang said, adding that cadres see the majority of products they
receive as bribes to be inconsequential but invariably covet electronics, and
especially flat screen TVs.


Moreover, the source added that an unexpected improvement in North Korea’s
power supply following last month’s landmark convention, albeit in “dribs
and drabs,” but still totaling approximately seven hours a day, is
facilitating the use of these products.