Even North Korea’s state stores sell banned South Korean clothing

As the warmer weather sweeps across the peninsula, summer clothes are becoming a hot item in the marketplace. For people in both North and South Korea, summer means finding a way to beat the heat and deal with the rain. Despite laws that ban the sale of South Korean-made products like raincoats, consumer affinity for such items continues to grow. For more, we turn to Economic Correspondent Kang Mi Jin
Over the past week, it has been raining here in South Korea. People have been ducking the rain and rushing from their homes to the nearest bus stop, all while sporting the latest in fashionable gumboots and raincoats. Because North Koreans often find themselves outdoors, gumboots, coats, and umbrellas are in high demand. According to a recent conversation with sources in Hoeryong, merchants tend to begin filling their stalls with summer products as early as April.   
The sources indicated that gumboots and raincoats have been selling quite well in recent days. Today, I’ll talk about which products are desired by residents, and how the popularity of products changes on a seasonal basis. 
Unlike South Koreans, who can dart from their homes to buses and indoor work areas, North Koreans have less convenience in their daily lives, which is reflected in their consumer preferences. 
Yes, that’s right. North Koreans are often mobilized to participate in labor mobilizations for various state events. There’s a plethora of such mandatory labor events in the spring and summer, like agricultural work and road construction. Residents cannot simply refuse to mobilize because of the weather and are forced to work regardless of the environmental conditions. That’s probably why North Koreans tend to prefer raincoats over umbrellas. Currently, quality raincoats are selling quite well and because the standard of living has risen slightly and people have a bit more money to spend, gumboots are also popular this year. 
One resident whom I spoke with recently said, “Residents are hunting around for the best products, even putting out enquiries around town to try to find them.” They’re saying to one another “There’s a limit to how good the quality can be if it’s made in China. As long as I pay a little more, I can get something more durable (made in South Korea), and this is better in the long run.” Accordingly, smugglers at the border are communicating to their Chinese contacts that demand is surging for South Korean raincoats. 
It seems that the attempts by the North Korean authorities to crackdown on South Korean products has been unable to put a dent in the demand for them. 
According to those who have purchased South Korean raincoats, both merchants and vendors alike know that the products are South Korean in origin. In fact, state-run stores in Pyongyang, Hamhung, and Wonsan all sell South Korean clothing. Business-savvy residents who know this fact often return from the capital city saying, “I just bought wholesale in Pyongyang.”  
“Because the state-operated department stores even sell South Korean clothing themselves, there are plenty of times when Ministry of People’s Security (MPS) agents have been unable to interfere. Residents ask why they are subject to crackdowns for selling the same items that are brazenly offered at state-run stores,” the source added.    
Some residents who sell South Korean clothes in the markets prefer to avoid a messy confrontation with the MPS agents, so they clip the tags that indicate country of origin. Despite this inconvenience, it seems that no amount of restriction will be able to block the affinity for South Korean products.  
Is it true that more kinds of South Korean products are becoming popular in the North? We’ve heard that South Korean electronics and makeup aren’t the only hot sellers these days; everyday products from the South are also selling well. 
Yes, that’s true. Because South Korean-made products are looked upon as the best in consumer goods, residents are really warming up to them. While in the past it was unusual for residents living in the interior regions of the country to look for South Korean goods, it’s becoming more and more common. The availability of South Korean goods has expanded beyond the border regions and into land-locked cities like North Hwanghae’s Sariwon. This shows that ownership of South Korean products is becoming increasingly commonplace throughout the North.  
A few years ago, I sent some South Korean products into North Korea. This happens frequently, with many defectors living in South Korea using smugglers to send banned items to their hometowns. Agents from North Korea’s Ministry of State Security and People’s Safety Agency have been tasked with cracking down on these activities. However, they have been unable to stem the flow of the very popular products. Even when Kim Jong Un issues a directive to control the flow of banned goods, the implementation eventually fizzles out. 

I’ve heard that South Korean products fetch a pretty penny at the market. Can you give us an indication of the costs for South Korean raincoats and boots? 
North Korean raincoats go for 58,000 KPW (~U.S. $7), while Chinese-made coats sell for 35,000 KPW (~$4.35), and South Korean coats cost about 140,000 KPW (~$17). South Korean-made gumboots sell for 120,000 KPW(~$15), while Chinese boots cost about 30,000 KPW (~$3.75). When it comes to North Korean products, consumers can choose between a 50,000 KPW (~$6.20) product manufactured at Wonsan Shoe Factory or a similarly-priced pair of “Arirang” boots made in Pyongyang.