Choco Pie

Choco Pie is a South Korean sweet consisting of two small round cake layers with a marshmallow filling and a chocolate coating, similar to a moon pie . It has been sold by Orion Confectionery since 1974. By 2006 sales totaled 12 billion units. This product makes Orion the leading supplier of pies in South Korea. Among other things, the company supplies the South Korean military, which distributes the Choco Pies to soldiers. Other important sales markets are China, Russia and Southeast Asia, with children between the ages of 5 and 10 being the main consumer group. The competitor Lotte has a product of the same name in its range, which is offered at a lower price.

Choco Pie in North Korea

The Choco Pies achieved international fame due to the so-called "Choco Pie-ization of North Korea". In the Kaesŏng Special Economic Zone , the product was given out by South Korean business partners as bonuses to the North Korean workers, as no direct payments were made under the contract, but material benefits could be granted directly. The candy was then traded on the (black) markets in North Korea at around 1200 won, which was around 15 US cents at the real exchange rate at the time, but was incorrectly converted to 10 US dollars due to the parallel currency exchange rate and made headlines as a supposed description of the state of the North Korean economy. In 2014, the North Korean regime finally banned “Choco Pie” in Kaesŏng and accompanied the measure with a propaganda initiative that described the candy as harmful to health. The identical product Phaner Pie from the Vietnamese company Phạm Nguyên is now being used in North Korea.

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Cookie Monster Forbes Asia, February 27, 2006, accessed July 18, 2012.
↑ Cookie Monster, p. 3 Forbes Asia, February 27, 2006, accessed July 18, 2012.
↑ By Madison Park, Frances Cha and Evelio Contreras, CNN: How Choco Pie infiltrated North Korea's sweet tooth - CNN . In: CNN . ( cnn.com [accessed August 17, 2018]).
↑ Chocopie inflation in North Korea's Kaesong Industrial Park The Telegraph, November 23, 2011, accessed July 18, 2012.
↑ North Korea has reportedly banned Choco Pies. Retrieved August 17, 2018 .
^ Tara Francis Chan: "North Korean soldier who defected has been granted Choco Pies for life - a snack Kim Jong Un hates" The Independent of December 17, 2017
^ Frank, Rüdiger: On the way in North Korea: A tightrope walk . 2nd Edition. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-421-04761-8 , pp. 168-171 .

[forbes-1] A ^b Cookie Monster Forbes Asia, February 27, 2006, accessed July 18, 2012.

[2] Cookie Monster, p. 3 Forbes Asia, February 27, 2006, accessed July 18, 2012.

[3] By Madison Park, Frances Cha and Evelio Contreras, CNN: How Choco Pie infiltrated North Korea's sweet tooth - CNN . In: CNN . ( cnn.com [accessed August 17, 2018]).

[4] Chocopie inflation in North Korea's Kaesong Industrial Park The Telegraph, November 23, 2011, accessed July 18, 2012.

[5] North Korea has reportedly banned Choco Pies. Retrieved August 17, 2018 .

[6] Tara Francis Chan: "North Korean soldier who defected has been granted Choco Pies for life - a snack Kim Jong Un hates" The Independent of December 17, 2017

[7] Frank, Rüdiger: On the way in North Korea: A tightrope walk . 2nd Edition. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-421-04761-8 , pp. 168-171 .