Dandong, China — It is reported that “Cuckoo,” a South Korean pressure rice cooker, has become a standard to judge wealth among rich class in North Korea.

“Is Cuckoo also that famous in South Korea?” a source from Yangkang Province asked in a phone interview with DailyNK on 23. “It sells like hotcakes in the North,” he said.

”Rich people even care about the place that their Cuckoo originates.” The source said. “If the country of origin is China, it costs around 400,000-700,000 North Korean won (approx. USD125-219), and if it is made in South Korea, it costs up to 800,000-1,200,000 won (approx. USD250-375). In rural areas, you can buy several houses with the money for one Cuckoo” he said.

Rice cooker has also been a social issue in South Korea in early 1980. At that time every South Korean travelers who made a trip to Japan came back with a rice cooker (ZOJIRUSH), so called “elephant rice cookers,” competitively. It was an object of envy for housewives in South Korea, and possessing that was not just a temporary fad but soon became an indicator of the gap between rich and poor.

In North Korea, a general electronic pressure cooker is known to Cuckoo. Cuckoo is not only a brand name for an original one but also for other pressure cooker made in China.

“Korean-Chinese who trades with North Korea call a pressure cooker ‘Cuckoo.’ North Korean people think that Chinese name it after the sound of ‘cuckoo’ when a pressure cooker gives off steam,” the source said.

In relation with this, an affiliate of the Marketing in Cuckoo Electronic co., ltd explained that Cuckoo is a compound word which combines ‘cook’ and ‘common cuckoo’ which notices the right time. The name is aim to visualize the image of a person who is waiting for the perfectly cooked rice.

It is so expensive that normal people even cannot dream about it, but there isn’t any single house that does not have Cuckoo among rich people and cadres” source said. “It is also an article essential to a marriage ceremony of rich people”

“Recently there are some people among the cadres of the Party and the officers of National Security Agency who ask to buy a Cuckoo to someone who visiting their relatives in China in return for issuing a certificate to cross the border (visa).”

“Rich people have already had everything they need. Now they are competing who use a better product. Even though they all use a Cuckoo, their wealth is judged differently depending on which country’s rice cooker they are using,” the source said.

“In the jangmadang(market), we can easily see the people who are looking for the South Korean Cuckoo. Merchants also give a second glance to a person who asks them a South Korea Cukoo,” the source said.

“You can buy either 750kg unglutinous rice or 2 tons of corn with the money to buy a South Korean Cuckoo,” The source said. “People like us” he said, “We are distressed when he hear the word, Cuckoo.”