North Korea and Free Market?

There was an interesting editorial on the current issue of BusinessWeek (March 1, 2004, p. 56) titled, "Pyongyang: Will Its Recovery Speed a Deal?" by Rose Brady. This is on the report by several American Asian experts who visited North Korea in January.

The bustling, 500-stall private market on Pyongyang's Tong Il Street ... where North Koreans can now buy everything from food to pirated videocassettes of South Korean soap operas ...

I find this very promising although the article discusses about whether the current Bush Administration's hard-line wait-till-it-implodes attitude will every work. Not that I don't think so, but I found it extremely interesting and promising that the foreign observers were able to see that pirated South Korean TV shows were circulated.

On one hand, I think it's hopeful that this can be used to bridge some of the cultural gaps between the two Koreas. But on the other hand, I am worried that all the twisted problems that some of the soap operas portray would be all that North Koreans think of the South.

I am really glad that the economic situation in North Korea is getting better. It's always nice to have non-desperate people as your neighbor.