How many chocolate pies should a N. Korean worker get?

South Korean companies operating in the Kaesong industrial complex in North Korea are worried over how many chocolate snacks they will have to give to their North Korean workers per day.

According sources at the complex on Sunday, the Kaesong Industrial Complex Company Representative Association, a group of companies running plants at the complex, held a steering committee meeting and gathered opinions to set guidelines on how many Choco Pies to give to their workers. Their opinions were given to the Kaesong Industrial Complex Management Committee, an inter-Korean consultative body.

Kim Gyu-cheol, head of the South and North Korea Forum who knows the situation at the complex well, said, “Companies give three to four or as many as eight to nine Choco Pies per person a day to North Korean workers, and a unified standard is necessary,” adding, “This is because North Korean workers don`t eat them and instead sell them to a market (Jang Madang)."

The Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun reported early this year that a Choco Pie is sold for 9.50 U.S. dollars in North Korean markets. This is a prohibitively expensive given that the average wage of North Korean workers at the complex is 63.80 dollars a month.

North Korean workers, who are given fewer Choco Pies than workers at other companies, are reportedly demanding “more snacks and benefits” and showing troublesome behavior. Certain workers are outright demanding cash in lieu of Choco Pies.

will71@donga.com