Posted on 06/02/2018 9:09:57 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Casey Lartigue Jr., co-founder of the Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center, compiled these statements from interviews with refugees studying in TNKR.
Eun-bin, female, escaped to South Korea in 2012
There have already been so many changes when it comes to the summit, so I will just wait and see what will happen. I haven't really thought about being scared, but now that you are asking, I suppose I should be concerned about the way things could turn out.
If there is change in North Korea, then I think the architecture and real estate businesses will be hot. There is a lot of land that is not being used, so people involved in designing and building museums, office buildings and homes will be needed.
Shin-hye, female, escaped to South Korea in 2011
I do believe Trump's negotiation style will force North Korea to change, and I'm hopeful. I have lost my trust in the South Korean government, I moved here and have felt safe, but the South Korean government is so determined to appease North Korea that I don't know what would have happened if not for Trump.
If North Korea opens its economy, then the online market will take off. Real estate will also be big in North Korea, it is now a disaster, a combination of government control from the past and now anything goes culture. North Koreans are so used to evading the government to support themselves that they don't respect the law and regulations.
Kyung-hee, female, escaped to Japan in 2008
I have higher expectations because of Trump, I did not expect anything from Bush or Obama because they were typical politicians. Trump is a real businessman, if he doesn't see a good deal then he won't move. I'm not concerned because I have not identified myself publicly as being from North Korea.
But one of my colleagues has been threatened by a North Korean communist organization in Japan that has become more active lately. They have threatened her through phone calls warning her to halt her activities against North Korea and even threatened a TV station that had been planning a documentary about her.
I'm not optimistic, but if there is change in North Korea, then tourism will be big. My family was wealthy when I was in North Korea because we got into the market early. I got to see a lot of the country when we were traveling around doing business. Many areas of North Korea are preserved, I hope it won't develop so quickly like Korea or Japan have.
Commodities (food) will be the hottest. Expect soybean, corn, bean exports to increase and prices to rise, IMO. Likely chicken/pork as well.
Bibles.
Back in the 90s at least, up around the DMZ, there was a market for rat and snake soju (literally a bottle of soju with a rat or snake in it. Think tequila worm only bigger). These were smuggled from the DPRK, and were an exclusive item up around the Munsan area. Given the millennial predilection for bath salts and tide pods, I would think an entrepreneurial nork could sell a whole lot of the stuff in the USA at a handsome profit.
Bibles.
Bibles and Porno.
Quite serious here. The place will become flooded with both missionaries, and criminal syndicates. I think people will turn to one of two extremes as they are de-programmed. If they ever are liberated.
There will also be a conserable amount of suicides and murders and violence as the nation emerges from cult mentality.
Well water drilling companies and electric generation companies.
Infrastructure big ticket items, funded by gov (theirs & others).
Power, sanitation, tele/digital com
Only “entrepreneurial nork” s are extremely rare and lack the freedom to do this....and likely would be jailed & tortured for doing so. Strong incentives against entrepreneurs.....
PS: My daughter lives & teaches ESL in Seoul........
Asian countries do not ever ‘open’ their markets. No Asian country has a tariff free ‘open’ market for imports like the USA has.
As soon as NK opens up, I’m heading there - short & long term opportunities
These people are stuck in the 1950s, so start them out slowly with hula-hoops and tinny, cheap Japanese transistor radios.
Then move on to big cars with big fins to park at outdoor drive-ins.
Oh, and Starbucks will move its headquarters to North Korea to glorify the past Stalinist dictatorship and serve tree bark coffee and Kim Jong-un pastries made with sawdust and grass.
Rare Earth materials!!!!
If the South Koreans, Indians, Filipinos and Bangladeshi can build a paradise in the desert from oil money (Dubai and others) they can surely modernize North Korea with Rare Earth materials money.
Cell phones - not sure what the current situation is?
Actually, one of the things a lot of defectors to the South say that they miss is the lack of light pollution. They are used to seeing the stars, and miss them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.