North Korea hates K-culture but loves blatantly copying Seoul’s trends as craze grows
From food to photo booths, Pyongyang is imitating South Korean culture through what analysts call ‘subjective adaptation’
While Pyongyang continues to warn against the inflow of South Korean culture, it has selectively adopted popular elements and repurposed them as its own through what observers call “subjective adaptation”.
According to Kang Dong-wan, a professor at Dong-A University and head of the Busan Hana Centre, North Korea’s tendency to “follow the South” became more blatant over the past year.
One example is a noodle product whose packaging closely resembles Samyang Foods’ Buldak ramen, complete with a similar black background and fiery chicken mascot. North Korea reportedly produced the imitation product, labelled “Spicy Kimchi Bibim Noodles”, and exported it to China in an apparent attempt to benefit from the global K-food boom.
Photos provided by Kang also show a range of copycat goods produced by the Rason Yongson joint venture company, including an instant noodle product made to look nearly identical to Samyang’s beef-flavoured ramen and a soft drink called “Coca-Cola Carbonated Drink”.
In Pyongyang, an instant photo booth modelled after the South Korean Life Four Cuts street photo booth has appeared under the name “Stylish Photographer”, reflecting the adoption of South Korean-inspired leisure trends.