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by adanto6840 3191 days ago
This is borderline off-topic, maybe a bit naive even, but I can't help but ask as I'm genuinely curious and don't know.

What do the 'wealthy' look like in NK? Is there an upper class of non-relatives and, if so, via what means -- government ties (business or personal)? What do they do on a daily basis, for work, fun, etc? It just seems to isolated, and perhaps that's my internet adoration speaking -- but is there a class of wealth in NK, what does it look like, how does it come to be?

And I'm honestly curious: if there is a wealthy class, what do they do for fun/enjoyment/entertainment purposes -- and how will this impact that?
3 comments
no1youknowz 3191 days ago
I was watching a portion of Michael Malice with Joe Rogan[0]. Michael wrote "Dear Reader: The Unauthorized Autobiography of Kim Jong Il". He actually mentions the upper class in NK.

It's over 2 and a half hours long, but I like Rogan's interviews they go by pretty fast.

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B_idqiEoUE

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rasz 3191 days ago
In East Bloc under Russian occupation the privileged class (party officials, high ranking bureaucrats, top of military command, security service/interior ministry, government run company directors etc) had access to special chain of shops full of western goods with special prices, additionally they were rewarded with cars/flats/homes/summer cabins at substantial discounts, automatically skipped all queues/lists/quotas, used special government owned hospitals/hotels/resorts for free, not to mention had get out of jail unless you murder someone important card, the list goes on and on.
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equalunique 3191 days ago
>What do the 'wealthy' look like in NK?

Suki Kim's “Without You, There Is No Us” (2014) offers a perspective from the time she spent there.

>What do they do on a daily basis, for work, fun, etc? It just seems to isolated

They are mostly isolated to Pyongyang where they live bureaucratic lifestyles.

>what do they do for fun/enjoyment/entertainment purposes

Not much. They basically are confined to the city. The make a comfortable living and spend their whole lives trying to please KJU.

>how will this impact that?

If the economic impact is extensive, then it would inhibit their ability to support the regime, and that would hurt morale all around Pyongyang.

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