WHEN THE POOR'S BIGGEST PROBLEM IS OBESITY...:

One of North Korea's most striking changes from its early years was the increasing porousness of its border with China. Private markets developed in the 1990s when the Soviet Union, along with its aid, disappeared and famine overwhelmed the country, leaving Pyongyang unable to feed its people. Trade became a means of survival for many North Koreans.

This patch of unabashed capitalism persisted even after the famine eased. "The growth of markets is the single most significant socioeconomic development to occur in North Korea over the last 20 years," according to Victor Cha and Lisa Collins of CSIS.

Goods, as well as refugees and defectors, increasingly crossed the border. These flows continued even after killer starvation eased. With the border no longer hermetically sealed, South Korean culture made its appearance in the DPRK, aided by technology. North Koreans went from CDs and DVDs to flash drives and even smaller SD cards. The newer media carried more information and, perhaps even more important, were more concealable.

The newer variants even began to be described as "nose cards." "Why do we call it [a] nose card? Well, if somebody wants to search your body whether you have any USBs or whatever, the boys instantly take it out and they put it in their nose," said Thae Yong-ho who defected when deputy chief of mission at North Korea's embassy in the United Kingdom. Equally important, as Pyongyang attempted to crack down on access to information, people became more creative. Not only are devices encrypted, but they delete information if the incorrect password is entered.

Defectors report that most North Koreans, including children of government officials, have seen South Korean movies, TV programs, and K-pop. The impact has been huge, exposing much of the population to the world that exists beyond their nation's borders. Also, they learned that their government lied to them.

"North Korean state propaganda had long described South Korea as a living hell crawling with beggars," the New York Times reported. "Through the K-dramas, first smuggled on tapes and CDs, young North Koreans learned that while they struggled to find enough food to eat during a famine, people in the South were going on diets to lose weight." 

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