38 North expert： The biggest change in N. Korea is the emergence of ′middle clas

38 North is a program of the U.S.－Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University dedicated to providing analysis of events in and around North Korea. Their blog is authored by its faculty and guest commentators... including Dr. Ruediger Frank， a longtime North Korea expert， an economist， and a professor of East Asian studies at the University of Vienna. Dr. Frank was educated at Kim Il－Sung University in North Korea and has been visiting the reclusive state for the past 24 years. I recently had a chance to sit down with him. In this part two of my two－part interview， we discussed the state of the North Korean economy and the emergence of what he called a ″middle class″ in North Korea. What would you say is the state of the North Korean economy at this point？ It′s obviously in a stage of transition. For someone who goes to North Korea as regularly as I do for 25 years now， it′s obvious that the country is changing. Not fast， not always at the pace we want but definitely in a way that can′t be bounced back. For example， existence of market where people can buy what they want in case they have the money， one thing that wasn′t there. I′m really hesitant to call them black markets… those jangmadang… because those are legal. They are heavily guarded… to trade there， you have to have license. I have also heard of young entrepreneurs in North Korea. Are there entrepreneurs？ Oh yes. They are usually they are in the restaurant business or in the tourism business. These are things where you can actually be an entrepreneur in North Korea. Obviously you need to have a connection because you will not be a private entrepreneur but it all takes place under the cover of some collective. And many young people I met in the educated middle class actually dream about entering business and opening their own restaurants and coffee shops or tourism company. You said middle class. So， are you saying that there is a middle class in North Korea？ Very obviously that′s one of the big changes that I have observed in the last 24 years… that this middle class has actually emerged. You now have people who look differently and wear more fashionably， have mobile phones， who have the right body language with self－confidence on the streets， not only on Pyeongyang but also of Cheongjin， Gyeongsung and Sariwon… any other major North Korean cities. So， are we seeing the emergence of capitalism in North Korea？ I would say what we see is the attempt by the state to use different means to achieve economic progress. What you are saying is that at least those in the middle class in North Korea have had the taste of what money can bring them？ Absolutely yes. This is transforming the whole outlook of life because they know whatever you want to get， you can get it if you have the money. Can we anticipate a reunification similar to that of Germany？ Definitely no. To begin with， the case of Korea and Germany are so different. If we look at the changes

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