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Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]

How North Korea advertises itself to businesses considering setting up shop there

Some of these claims are false. Some reveal more truth than the writers intended:

Lowest labour cost in Asia.

Highly qualified, loyal and motivated personnel. Education, housing and health service is provided free to all citizens. As opposed to other Asian countries, worker’s will not abandon their positions for higher salaries once they are trained.

Lowest taxes scheme in Asia. Especially for high-tech factories. Typical tax exemption for the first two years.

No middle agents. All business made directly with the government, state-owned companies.

Stable. A government with solid security and very stable political system, without corruption.

Full diplomatic relations with most EU members and rest of countries.

New market. Many areas of business and exclusive distribution of products (sole-distribution).

Transparant legal work. Legal procedures, intellectual rights, patents and warranties for investors settled.

7 comments to How North Korea advertises itself to businesses considering setting up shop there

  • Cynewulf

    I would love to set up a company there making nothing but Hope-and-Change T-shirts!

  • ap

    worker’s will not abandon their positions for higher salaries once they are trained.

    We had that system in the southern regions of my country a while back.

  • Laird

    I don’t know about the “transparent legal work” claim (because I truly don’t know anything about NK’s legal system, and especially its protection of property rights), and I’m not convinced that the personnel are truly “motivated” in any sense that I would recognize, but the rest of it seems pretty accurate. Which of these claims do you think are false?

    This seems to be a brilliant piece of marketing.

  • Natalie Solent (Essex)

    Laird, from what I have read in books such as “Nothing to Envy”, I am certain the following is false: “Stable. A government with solid security and very stable political system, without corruption.” The one about the legal system and the protection of property rights is also probably false – whatever the laws may say, which like you I do not know, I do not believe that any property rights would be proof against a sufficiently high-up ruler taking a fancy to your stuff, particularly since communism and the “juche” ideology of autarky are naturally opposed to foreign private property.

  • Natalie Solent (Essex)

    ap – quite. As I recall from the history books, the loyalty and devotion of those particular workers was much stressed by their bosses in much the same way as for the North Korean workers eulogized here.

    The word “motivated”, however, is probably true in the strict sense for both sets of workers.

  • Natalie Solent (Essex)

    Cynewulf,

    The north Korean animation studio “SEK” has worked on some surprising western-produced animated movies. There even seems to be one about the Catholic saint Padre Pio in there. What the people doing the animation thought of that I can’t imagine.

  • Jason

    That’s great, thank you Natalie – that’s given me one of the backpage funnies for my mag.