North Korea has released a luxury cigarette gift set branded with the magpie, the country’s national bird. After positioning 7.27 cigarettes—Kim Jong Un’s personal favorite—as a luxury product, North Korea is now applying the same strategy to the Kkachi (meaning “magpie”) brand.
“A gift set of premium cigarettes called Kkachi was recently released and is available in and around Dandong, in China’s Liaoning province. The package is made of wood and glass and looks very upscale. The sets are quite expensive, selling for around $100 each,” a source in China told Daily NK recently.
These magpie-branded premium cigarettes appear to be following the luxury sales strategy of 7.27 cigarettes, which gained attention as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s preferred brand.
The source noted that when metal cases containing two boxes of white 7.27 cigarettes first appeared in Chinese markets, they were considered high-end gift sets and sold for around $100.
The Kkachi cigarettes are even more luxurious in both packaging and design. The symbolic choice of North Korea’s national bird for the product logo has also attracted attention in China.
This isn’t the first time North Korea has sold products like cigarettes and alcohol featuring logos of special significance to the regime in an attempt to earn foreign currency overseas. The release of the Kkachi cigarette gift set appears to be the latest effort to leverage state symbols for hard currency.
“North Korea is determined to turn state symbols into luxury products that can be packaged and sold as expensive gift sets, and the Kkachi cigarettes appear to be part of those efforts. Many are curious and intrigued that the magpie—which has replaced the goshawk as North Korea’s national bird—is featured on this premium gift set,” the source said.
Even North Koreans view premium cigarette sets like these as intended for overseas sales.
“These products are designed to be sold overseas for profit. Trade officials responsible for earning foreign currency have developed various money-making schemes involving the distribution of North Korean products in China, Southeast Asia, and other overseas markets. The Kkachi cigarettes are one of those products,” explained a source in North Korea.
“The white 7.27 cigarettes and Kkachi cigarettes are sold as luxury products in China, but they’re not that popular here in North Korea. The cigarettes most commonly given as gifts here are Seven Stars and Peace from Japan and Zhongnanhai from China,” the source added.
