{"id":14462,"date":"2026-05-12T22:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/14462\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T22:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:14:08","slug":"north-koreas-wealthy-defy-ban-on-south-korean-appliances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/14462\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea’s wealthy defy ban on South Korean appliances"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Portable<\/a>Portable gas stove in kitchen in Hyesan, Ryanggang province (left); electric rice\/pressure cooker (right). Image: Daily NK<\/p>\n

Despite intensifying crackdowns<\/a> on South Korean<\/a> goods, North Korea\u2019s wealthy<\/a> elite continue to use Cuckoo brand electric rice<\/a> cookers, treating the South Korean appliances as status symbols<\/a> even at the risk of legal punishment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A Daily NK source in North Hamgyong province said Monday that in Hoeryong<\/a> and Chongjin, most households belonging to the donju \u2014 North Korea\u2019s private merchant class, whose name roughly translates as \u201cmoney masters\u201d \u2014 cook their rice exclusively in Cuckoo cookers. \u201cEven though the product is subject to crackdowns, people with money<\/a> compete with each other to use them,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n

Electric rice cookers already occupy a legally fraught category in North Korea. Power<\/a> distribution<\/a> units, which are state agencies responsible for monitoring<\/a> household electricity<\/a> consumption, conduct regular inspections to check for high-draw appliances including rice cookers and electric heaters.<\/p>\n

South Korean rice cookers carry an additional layer of risk. Since North Korea redefined its relationship with South Korea<\/a> as one between two hostile<\/a> states, authorities have tightened controls on South Korean products. Using one is now treated not merely as an electricity violation but as an anti-socialist act, and those caught face referral to the police<\/a> rather than a simple written self-criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re caught with an ordinary electric rice cooker, the item gets confiscated and you have to write a statement saying you wasted electricity and won\u2019t do it<\/a> again,\u201d the source said. \u201cBut because Cuckoo is a South Korean product, it doesn\u2019t end at writing a statement \u2014 you get handed over to the security forces and face legal punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bribes, bluster, and a Chinese voice setting<\/p>\n

Demand among the wealthy has proven resilient regardless. Cuckoo cookers are widely regarded as superior to Chinese-made alternatives, and ownership doubles as a conspicuous display of wealth. Some donju accept the legal risk and hold onto their cookers.<\/p>\n

When inspectors do catch someone, cash<\/a> payments<\/a> on the spot frequently resolve the matter. Evasion tactics have also grown more sophisticated. Some owners set their cookers\u2019 voice guidance to Chinese<\/a>, then argue during inspections that the appliance is Chinese-made rather than South Korean.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s often hard to tell from the outside whether something is Chinese or South Korean, and even more so when the voice comes out in Chinese,\u201d the source said. He added that some caught owners go on the offensive, saying to inspectors: \u201cCan\u2019t you hear the Chinese voice? How could I have gotten my hands on a South Korean product? You\u2019re accusing an innocent person.\u201d<\/p>\n

The source noted that social dynamics help the tactic work<\/a>. \u201cPeople here care a lot about face and pride,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you talk down to them and say \u2018Can\u2019t you tell the difference between Chinese and South Korean?\u2019 they get flustered. A lot of people use that psychology to talk their way past inspectors.\u201d<\/p>\n

A source in South Hamgyong province described a parallel pattern. Wealthy households there pay informal fees to state enterprises<\/a> to obtain electricity beyond their official allotment, then use it to run rice cookers. When power distribution officers catch them and the owners push back by questioning their evidence, the officers tend to back down.<\/p>\n

The source said inspectors frequently accept bribes<\/a> and leave<\/a> without pressing the matter, and that ordinary people have taken note. \u201cThere\u2019s talk that the whole point of the electricity inspections is to collect money,\u201d the source said. With little incentive to escalate, inspectors settle for a payout and move on.<\/p>\n

The pattern reflects a broader reality: even as Pyongyang<\/a> sharpens its rhetoric against South Korean cultural and consumer goods, enforcement consistently yields to the economic interests of both sides. \u201cNo matter how much they crack down, there\u2019s a strong perception among the donju that South Korean products are simply better,\u201d the source said. \u201cThat\u2019s why the trend of seeking out and using South Korean goods continues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read in Korean<\/a><\/p>\n

Reporting from inside North Korea<\/p>\n

\n Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information<\/a> through secure channels. Unlike reporting based on state media<\/a>, satellite<\/a> imagery, or defector<\/a> accounts from years past, our journalism comes directly from people currently living under the regime. We verify reports through multiple independent sources and cross-reference details before publication.\n <\/p>\n

\n Our sources remain anonymous because contact with foreign media is treated as a capital<\/a> offense in North Korea \u2014 discovery means imprisonment or execution. This network-based approach allows Daily NK to report<\/a> on developments other outlets cannot access: market<\/a> trends, policy implementation, public sentiment, and daily realities that never appear in official narratives.\n <\/p>\n

\n Maintaining these secure communication channels and protecting source identities requires specialized protocols and constant vigilance. Daily NK serves as a bridge<\/a> between North Koreans and the outside world, documenting what\u2019s happening inside one of the world\u2019s most closed societies.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Portable gas stove in kitchen in Hyesan, Ryanggang province (left); electric rice\/pressure cooker (right). Image: Daily NK Despite…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14463,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[174,449,455,3416,31,4610,34,1792,10722],"class_list":{"0":"post-14462","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-north-korea","8":"tag-corruption","9":"tag-crackdowns","10":"tag-donju","11":"tag-electricity","12":"tag-korea","13":"tag-north-hamgyong-province","14":"tag-north-korea","15":"tag-south-korean-culture","16":"tag-wealthy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}