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N. Korea: Depressed Market due to harmful Chinese Goods(&they expect the regime ends in 1.5 year)
Futurekorea ^ | 09/30/06 | Lee Duk-soo

Posted on 09/30/2006 7:01:40 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

/begin my translation

Depressed Market due to Bad Chinese Goods

Life of N. Koreans

We find out the life in N. Korea from N. Koreans who came to China.

People do not go to work because government cannot give out food rations. The authorities cannot come down strongly on them, either.

N. Koreans mainly use Chinese products, but many of them turn out to be health hazards, leading to boycotts. For example, lipsticks can cause fever, and skin to be peeled off. Brazier can cause rashes and itching. Worse, one newly-wed couple died after eating apples in 2005, or children got their gullet damaged and even went blind from chewing gums. Some turned mute after eating a candy.

These all contributed to the depressed business. Daily toll for doing a business at a market is 500 won. When the market manager is taking a round to collect the toll, everybody is running away along with their merchandise. They used to earn 2,000 ~ 3,000 won a day at a market.

Up until recently, salaried workers envied those doing business in the market. Their one-month salary was equal to a day's sales at the market, making them grumble a lot.

N. Koreans often say that they would manage to get by this year, but worry much about the next year. Even with money in your hand, you cannot buy rice because there is none available. To earn hard currency, they have nearly depleted minerals and forestry. All these make people fear that they could get starved to death. Price of rice skyrocketed in a span of a month or two this year, which added more worry.

Panhandling children are ever-increasing. In a place like Shinuiju, they made it virtually impossible to do business at a market. Electric power is provided in Shinuiju between 5am and 7am, 1pm and 2 pm, 7pm and 11pm. No power is provided in southern Shinuiju and the surrounding farms.

Schools and Hospitals are given some rice and corn, but factories and people's residential units are not. If rice is given, it should be peeled, 5 won per kilogram. Grain office gave out rice in return for corn or wheat.

Last year, salaried workers were given plots where they were asked to farm, then the authorities set average yield from plots, and ordered them to provide workers at the workplace regardless of their actual yield. They refused to listen when some people protested. No way to turn to if such unfair decisions are made.

People cannot be treated in time due to lack of medicine. In the midst of epidemic, no quarantine was enforced, and patients were left unattended, infecting family members. The weak and the old tend to lose their life.

Since July missile launches, people are especially upset that their life would get worse due to UN economic sanction. At first, people did not know the missile launches, but they learned that UN sanction was imposed due to missile launches from those who go to China. Realizing that their already bad living condition would get worse, working class and middle class are both upset.

"What do we gain by firing missiles?", people talk among themselves, even though N. Korea is a controlled society. Some complain, "This is like a chicken fight. Like children's petty fighting, war stuff goes on again and again. Our future is really bleak. Our people are just too nice and patient. For 10 years, we put up with lack of rice, running water, and electricity. This is going too far."

High party officials are hinting at people around them in increasing frequency, "Please be patient a little more. Dear General(Kim Jong-il)'s health has deteriorated." They all expect the collapse of N. Korean regime. They used to think that it is 3 years away. Now they say it is only one and a half year away. This expectation turns people more restive and aggravate the conflict between different classes of people.

Dandong = Lee Duk-soo

/end my translation


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: china; chinesegoods; depression; foodshortage; frustration; harmful; kimjongil; market; missilelaunch; northkorea; regimecollapse
N. Koreans mainly use Chinese products, but many of them turn out to be health hazards, leading to boycotts. For example, lipsticks can cause fever, and skin to be peeled off. Brazier can cause rashes and itching. Worse, one newly-wed couple died after eating apples in 2005, or children got their gullet damaged and even went blind from chewing gums. Some turned mute after eating a candy.

Getting boycotts from N. Koreans whose living standard is atrocious, says volumes about business culture of China.

High party officials are hinting at people around them in increasing frequency, "Please be patient a little more. Dear General(Kim Jong-il)'s health has deteriorated." They all expect the collapse of N. Korean regime. They used to think that it is 3 years away. Now they say it is only one and a half year away. This expectation turns people more restive and aggravate the conflict among different classes of people.

Gee, I do hope so. We all want Kim Jong-il to die soon.

1 posted on 09/30/2006 7:01:43 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
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To: TigerLikesRooster; AmericanInTokyo; OahuBreeze; yonif; risk; Steel Wolf; nuconvert; MizSterious; ...

Ping!


2 posted on 09/30/2006 7:02:25 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Ahhhhhhhhhh,a good old fashion socialist state.Sounds like the eutopia that Ted Kennedy,Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton dream about !!!


3 posted on 09/30/2006 7:15:06 AM PDT by Obie Wan
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To: TigerLikesRooster
N. Koreans mainly use Chinese products, but many of them turn out to be health hazards

Eating Chinese produce is right up there with organic spinach. Caveat Emptor.

4 posted on 09/30/2006 7:16:00 AM PDT by glorgau
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To: TigerLikesRooster
Correction: Brazier Brassiere
5 posted on 09/30/2006 7:24:24 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
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To: TigerLikesRooster
About a hundred and fifty years ago, science cracked open the door to material prosperity, unseen ever on earth. However this required free inquiry, free minds, free association of science, engineering, and economics to most efficiently bring new methods and produts to people. However also a hundred years ago, a new religion of socialism took place. Socialism is an obstacle to free association, action and inquire at every nexus. Oddly, socialism rests on seeing the unseen and planning for the unplannable.

So, you have a basically poor area like North Korea, that would in a natural state have to depend mostly on the genius of all the people, suppressing genius and enterprise.

China, South Korea, Japan better start the planning. North Korea is going to depopulate in a month.
6 posted on 09/30/2006 7:28:43 AM PDT by Leisler (Read the Koran, real Islam is not peaceful.)
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To: Obie Wan
North Koreans are stupid.

Only stupid people would complain about a State that has free health care, government sector employment for life and first rate gun control.

7 posted on 09/30/2006 7:37:24 AM PDT by nonliberal (Graduate: Curtis E. LeMay School of International Relations)
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To: nonliberal
Re #7

And 10-year mandatory military service.:)

8 posted on 09/30/2006 7:40:47 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
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To: TigerLikesRooster

From satellite at night, North Korea and South Korea. Ah, the glory of socialism!

9 posted on 09/30/2006 7:50:10 AM PDT by TheGeezer (I.will.never.vote.for.John.McCain.)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

AH GOOD OLD Fashioned market for Socialist LOL!


10 posted on 09/30/2006 9:58:50 AM PDT by SevenofNine (I'd rather hunt with Dick Cheney than ride with Ted Kennedy)
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To: TigerLikesRooster; All

Every FREEPer should read this book! Check it out at the library or get it at amazon! North Korea's dictatorship should be destroyed!
11 posted on 09/30/2006 10:04:51 AM PDT by Recovering_Democrat (I am SO glad to no longer be associated with the party of "dependence on government"!)
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To: TigerLikesRooster
Cuba, North Korea, it's just unbelievable what these people are suffering for no good reason.

For all the nonsense about how we can't intervene, these countries are totalitarian prisons. Letting the Casto's and the Kim's starve and torture their citizens to death is a Bad Thing.

We should invade, on the pretext that Kim is a terrorist weapons-proliferator. Even if we used some nukes to exterminate the leadership, it wouldn't be worse than what has already happened to most of these suffering people. There is no reason for any Koreans to have to live like this.

Either South Korea or China in control would be far better (assuming they're more comfortable with Asians). For that matter, we could just sell the whole country to WalMart and these people would still be better off.
12 posted on 09/30/2006 12:28:56 PM PDT by George W. Bush
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To: George W. Bush

No problem. The UN will shortly intervene and toss out the corrupt, oppressive NK govt and oversee installation of democracy and honest elections.

After all, the vast majority of UN members are enlightened, democratic, humane govts.


13 posted on 09/30/2006 1:23:01 PM PDT by OldArmy52 (China & India: Doing jobs Americans don't want to do (manuf., engineering, accounting, etc))
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Correction:

No way place to turn to if such unfair decisions are made.
Grain office gave gives out rice in return for corn or wheat.

14 posted on 09/30/2006 4:31:12 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
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To: George W. Bush
We should invade, on the pretext that Kim is a terrorist weapons-proliferator.

It was either invade Iraq, or invade North Korea. The president chose Iraq.

15 posted on 09/30/2006 4:38:58 PM PDT by Zeroisanumber (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

"Our people are just too nice and patient"

Time for the people to rise up has come and passed many times.


16 posted on 09/30/2006 5:02:13 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar ("Being nice will get us killed")
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To: Recovering_Democrat
I too recommend the book...
17 posted on 10/02/2006 3:43:33 AM PDT by Defendingliberty (www.gulagthebear.com)
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