Choco Pies and Cup Noodles: the Keys to Peace in East Asia

Chocolate and marshmallow sandwiched into a pie. Cheap noodles packaged with instant sauce additions and toppings. For many people across the globe, choco pies and cup noodles are a coveted snack, cheap to buy and easy to eat. However, in impoverished countries such as North Korea, these food items are a forbidden delicacy, and symbolize the wealth of our modern society, a world they have never known.

            Immediately following its establishment after the Korean War, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(North Korea) was almost completely sealed from all outside influences, allowing no foreigners to enter its borders. For a period of time, it seemed the regime would survive with aid from its Communist allies, but as this supply began to dwindle, a disastrous famine struck the entire country. In the 1990s, over 1 million North Koreans perished from lack of food and the indifference of its exclusive ruling party. At the same time North Koreans were quietly starving beneath the dear leader, their neighbor to the south was reaching the peak of an economic miracle. By the start of the 21^st century, South Korea had gone from one of the poorest countries to the thirteenth wealthiest economy in the world, acting as a donor to countries that had given it aid only decades before. In a desperate response and grasp for power, then North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il set aside all remaining supplies for the military, and redoubled efforts to begin a nuclear program. This act, although highly unfortunate, eventually became the common ground for the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a joint venture by the governments of North and South Korea that employed 53,000 North Korean workers. Although all wages were paid directly to the North Korean government, workers would receive “bonuses” of cup noodles and choco pies (the North Korean government forbid South Korean companies from giving monetary bonuses to their citizens). These small gifts were astonishing to the North Koreans, for they represented an unknown life in a society where such delicious food was commonplace and easy to obtain. As the delicacies began to find their way into North Korean markets, they became as valued as hard currency, becoming a bargaining chip for basic necessities and the face of growing dissent among North Koreans. The introduction of these foods would usher in a wave of illegal trade with nearby countries (i.e. China), and an increased awareness of the wealth of the outside world, in comparison to their own communist “utopia.”

Choco pies: a coveted snack food in both North and South Korea

This realization and the “money” brought in by sale of South Korean snacks could be the inspiration necessary to kindle a civilian coup de tat within the North Korean monopoly. As no foreign country is in a position to even suggest reform in North Korea, government overthrow can only occur at the hands of the people, leading to potential reunification in the Korean peninsula, and elimination of a serious nuclear threat. The American public has long focused its attention on the outrageous actions of Kim Jong Un, making him a household name. Yet, as we continue to hear of the sudden murder of the dear leader’s uncle, or the extensive wardrobe of Kim Jong Un’s wife, thousands of North Koreans die from human rights abuses and harsh labor in political prison camps. By providing North Koreans with more choco pies and cup noodles, we can refocus our North Korean spotlight away from the “dear leader” and to his “dear people,” and supply the people of the “hermit kingdom” with a symbol to inspire the revolution of the century. Choco pies and cup noodles for freedom!

Shin ramen black: the most popular cup noodle brand in South Korea, is gaining wide popularity throughout the North and the rest of the world today.