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First off, we’ll examine what snacks mean in North Korea. 

In North Korea, snacks were previously given out to the people on special occasions, including national holidays, as a gift by the leader. The rare snacks could not be purchased easily at stores. People would look forward to national holidays, wondering what treats they would receive. For them, snacks represent the gift and love of the party. 

But things have changed now. Many factories produce snack foods, which are easily available at stores in big cities like Pyongyang. Moreover, North Korea strategically nurtures snacks as an export item. To promote regional economies, the country is producing a variety of snacks using resources in each region. Unlike in the past, snacks can be bought at any time. 

People who lived in North Korea in the 2000s often talk about nutrient-rich biscuits, known in North Korea as “U.N. biscuits,” that were handed out to children by schools and childcare centers in the country. 

At the time, the World Food Program supplied materials for biscuit production, and North Korean factories produced biscuits for children. In the process, nutritional supplements were added to the fortified biscuits, which could be consumed conveniently by young children. The letters “WFP” were stamped on square-shaped biscuits measuring five centimeters on a side. They were called “U.N. biscuits” probably because they were provided by the international organization. Unfortunately, the WFP’s assistance was suspended, forcing North Korean factories to stop production. As a result, such biscuits are not found in North Korea now. 

Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il advocated military-first politics. He once said that one can live without candy but one cannot live without bullets. But after his son and successor Kim Jong-un came to power, the new leader stressed the importance of reviving the economy and improving public livelihoods. Accordingly, North Korea’s snack industry began to develop. Especially after the country adopted a new economic management system, snacks tasted better and their kinds were diversified. 

There have been changes in many areas in North Korea under Kim Jong-un’s rule. In the economic area, the country has invigorated sectors that previously lagged behind, such as the light industry, the consumer goods industry and the service industry. In line with this trend, the North focused on confectionery as a promising industry. That was all the more so because snacks were one of the products that North Korea could produce and even export with its own technology without importing resources from outside.  

One of the largest food factories in North Korea is the KumCup(금컵) Food Factory in Pyongyang. Since 2011, it has produced some 400 different kinds of food products including beverages, bread and processed meat products. Other factories include the Seonheung(선흥) Food Factory, the Unha Taesong(은하 대성) Foodstuff Factory and the Songdowon General Foodstuffs Factory. 

For product quality management, North Korea uses its own national standards. North Korean media defined the national standards as “law,” calling for manufacturers of industrial goods, foodstuffs and office supplies to follow the standards. As a member of the International Organization for Standardization or ISO, North Korea places great emphasis on the production management system. Many North Korean snack products have an ISO mark on them to indicate an assurance for product quality. The country also operates a quality certification system for products, including snacks. 

North Korea now focuses more on quality of consumer goods than on quantity. It has selected competitive, top quality products in each area and given a certification medal to them on December 15 every year since 2014. The purpose is to encourage manufacturers to produce high quality goods that would appeal to the people. In the area of snacks, the quality medal is provided to each different section, such as fruit bread, coffee candies, assorted cookies, nutritious jellies and nutritious gangjeong(강정), which is a Korean rice cracker. The number of products that receive the “December 15 quality medal” has been on the rise.

More snack food variety is being produced in North Korea, compared to the past. They are divided into several different kinds, including candies, cookies, bread and yeot or Korean taffy. There are also jelly sweets called danmuk. North Korean snacks are named after their ingredients, so it is easy to guess what kinds of snacks are just by hearing their names. Professor Jeon talks about North Korean candies. 

North Korean candies include a peanut candy called the Rakhwasaeng(락화생) candy. Rakhwa means “peanut” in North Korean. Similarly, a bean candy is called kong candy, as “kong” means bean. There are also the grape-flavored candy and the strawberry-flavored candy. Fruit can be put inside the candy in the form of a sweet jelly. For example, the apple sweet jelly candy is a candy using the apple jelly as a filling. Interestingly, a lollipop is called a skewered candy. In this way, names of North Korean snacks indicate their characteristics. 

Speaking of bread in North Korea, there are sponge cakes called seolgi, stuffed buns with a filling, twisted bread sticks and bread rolls. Butter or cocoa may be used for sweet seolgi, while red beans, the strawberry jelly, the apple jelly and the lemon jelly can be put in stuffed buns as a filling. Bread roll ups may use cinnamons or butter as ingredients. 

In North Korea, a sandwich cookie made with filling between is called a layered biscuit. Milk cream, butter cream or green tea-flavored cream can be used for the filling. Chips are called tuigi(튀기) or puffy snack. There are chips flavored with pea, squid, shrimp, onion, mung bean and chocolate. 

In North Korea, ice pops are called Eskimo, while ice cream cones are just called ice cream. Chewing gum sticks are described as something like “board gums” and the bubble gum is referred to as the “droplet gum.” Gums without sugar are called sugar-free gums. In the North, soda is known as carbonated sweet water, which can be flavored with apple, pear or omija or a five-flavor berry. Coke is called cocoa-flavored carbonated sweet water, while Sprite is called cider. 

North Korea produces various types of snacks using dairy products. Names of milk products indicate particular substances added to them. For example, there is calcium milk, vitamin milk, strawberry milk, apple milk, corn milk, peach milk and muskmelon milk. Nutritious milk for children is also found. Milk is associated with nutrition, and some milk products are named after nutrients. Yogurt is otherwise expressed as sour milk, as it is a fermented milk product. Yogurt products include peach yogurt and jujube yogurt. 

Without a doubt, Choco Pie is one of the most popular snacks in North Korea. South Korean companies doing business at the inter-Korean joint industrial complex in Gaeseong used to provide the chocolate coated snack cakes to North Korean laborers working there. The South Korean snack was so popular that it was traded at high prices at North Korea’s private market or jangmadang and it was even regarded as a symbol representing the wealthy class. After the shutdown of the industrial park, North Korea began to produce its own version of Choco Pie. 

Choco Pie enjoys worldwide popularity. The snack was pretty popular among workers in North Korea, where it was hard to find similar products. North Korean workers consumed the snack cakes themselves while working, and often brought them home to give them to their children. Rumors about the delicious South Korean snack spread through word of mouth and it became a popular item at the jangmadang. Starting from the Gaeseong Industrial Park, Choco Pie spread to other North Korean regions. 

Products similar to Choco Pie are found in China as well. North Korea made its own Choco Pie version called Chocolate Sweet Seolgi. But I heard the cake tends to stick to the bag due to poor packing and surface coating. 

In recent years, North Korea has held an exhibition of candy and cookie sculptures around the Day of the Sun on April 15, which is the birthday of former leader Kim Il-sung. Chefs at large restaurants and workers at food factories participate in the event. Some of the displayed works featured the themes of famous buildings in Pyongyang or characters shown in North Korean animated films. The 2017 event showed sculptures inspired by characters of foreign animated films, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 

It is common to find exhibitions of bread art or sugar art. Those exhibitions involve the creation of sculptures made of bread or sugar. Similarly, some upscale restaurants display fruit sculptures. 

North Korea has been holding the candy and cookie sculpture exhibition since 2016. Competitions are held in the two different categories—candy and cookie—for the purpose of encouraging the development of various snack products and raising social awareness of them. Works that are highly appreciated at the exhibition are given the award certificate and medal. 

Since the international community has strengthened sanctions against North Korea in 2016, the country has stressed self-reliance. Along with the protracted international sanctions, the border closure triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has made the prices of daily necessities skyrocket in North Korea. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the country to secure food and raw materials. Accordingly, the North puts even greater pressure on all industries to produce goods on their own. The confectionery industry is no exception. 

North Korea tries hard to produce snack products domestically, using ingredients available in local regions. It is also using patriotism as a marketing tool, urging the people to buy domestic products. 

In fact, it is far from easy for a product to be competitive. South Korean snack products were able to penetrate the international market because they survived the fierce competition against countless alternatives and their marketability was fully verified. For a product to stay competitive, it should meet multiple requirements. But North Korean infrastructure is simply inadequate for now. That’s why the North focuses on the local production of goods. In a sense, localization is North Korea’s only choice in the current situation. 

At the plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party late last year, North Korea pledged to continue with its policy line of developing a self-reliant economy. It is said that North Korea produces snacks using local ingredients. But it is questionable if the country will be able to overcome the economic crisis through its localization policy alone.

First off, we’ll examine what snacks mean in North Korea. 

In North Korea, snacks were previously given out to the people on special occasions, including national holidays, as a gift by the leader. The rare snacks could not be purchased easily at stores. People would look forward to national holidays, wondering what treats they would receive. For them, snacks represent the gift and love of the party. 

But things have changed now. Many factories produce snack foods, which are easily available at stores in big cities like Pyongyang. Moreover, North Korea strategically nurtures snacks as an export item. To promote regional economies, the country is producing a variety of snacks using resources in each region. Unlike in the past, snacks can be bought at any time. 

People who lived in North Korea in the 2000s often talk about nutrient-rich biscuits, known in North Korea as “U.N. biscuits,” that were handed out to children by schools and childcare centers in the country. 

At the time, the World Food Program supplied materials for biscuit production, and North Korean factories produced biscuits for children. In the process, nutritional supplements were added to the fortified biscuits, which could be consumed conveniently by young children. The letters “WFP” were stamped on square-shaped biscuits measuring five centimeters on a side. They were called “U.N. biscuits” probably because they were provided by the international organization. Unfortunately, the WFP’s assistance was suspended, forcing North Korean factories to stop production. As a result, such biscuits are not found in North Korea now. 

Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il advocated military-first politics. He once said that one can live without candy but one cannot live without bullets. But after his son and successor Kim Jong-un came to power, the new leader stressed the importance of reviving the economy and improving public livelihoods. Accordingly, North Korea’s snack industry began to develop. Especially after the country adopted a new economic management system, snacks tasted better and their kinds were diversified. 

There have been changes in many areas in North Korea under Kim Jong-un’s rule. In the economic area, the country has invigorated sectors that previously lagged behind, such as the light industry, the consumer goods industry and the service industry. In line with this trend, the North focused on confectionery as a promising industry. That was all the more so because snacks were one of the products that North Korea could produce and even export with its own technology without importing resources from outside.  

One of the largest food factories in North Korea is the KumCup(금컵) Food Factory in Pyongyang. Since 2011, it has produced some 400 different kinds of food products including beverages, bread and processed meat products. Other factories include the Seonheung(선흥) Food Factory, the Unha Taesong(은하 대성) Foodstuff Factory and the Songdowon General Foodstuffs Factory. 

For product quality management, North Korea uses its own national standards. North Korean media defined the national standards as “law,” calling for manufacturers of industrial goods, foodstuffs and office supplies to follow the standards. As a member of the International Organization for Standardization or ISO, North Korea places great emphasis on the production management system. Many North Korean snack products have an ISO mark on them to indicate an assurance for product quality. The country also operates a quality certification system for products, including snacks. 

North Korea now focuses more on quality of consumer goods than on quantity. It has selected competitive, top quality products in each area and given a certification medal to them on December 15 every year since 2014. The purpose is to encourage manufacturers to produce high quality goods that would appeal to the people. In the area of snacks, the quality medal is provided to each different section, such as fruit bread, coffee candies, assorted cookies, nutritious jellies and nutritious gangjeong(강정), which is a Korean rice cracker. The number of products that receive the “December 15 quality medal” has been on the rise.

More snack food variety is being produced in North Korea, compared to the past. They are divided into several different kinds, including candies, cookies, bread and yeot or Korean taffy. There are also jelly sweets called danmuk. North Korean snacks are named after their ingredients, so it is easy to guess what kinds of snacks are just by hearing their names. Professor Jeon talks about North Korean candies. 

North Korean candies include a peanut candy called the Rakhwasaeng(락화생) candy. Rakhwa means “peanut” in North Korean. Similarly, a bean candy is called kong candy, as “kong” means bean. There are also the grape-flavored candy and the strawberry-flavored candy. Fruit can be put inside the candy in the form of a sweet jelly. For example, the apple sweet jelly candy is a candy using the apple jelly as a filling. Interestingly, a lollipop is called a skewered candy. In this way, names of North Korean snacks indicate their characteristics. 

Speaking of bread in North Korea, there are sponge cakes called seolgi, stuffed buns with a filling, twisted bread sticks and bread rolls. Butter or cocoa may be used for sweet seolgi, while red beans, the strawberry jelly, the apple jelly and the lemon jelly can be put in stuffed buns as a filling. Bread roll ups may use cinnamons or butter as ingredients. 

In North Korea, a sandwich cookie made with filling between is called a layered biscuit. Milk cream, butter cream or green tea-flavored cream can be used for the filling. Chips are called tuigi(튀기) or puffy snack. There are chips flavored with pea, squid, shrimp, onion, mung bean and chocolate. 

In North Korea, ice pops are called Eskimo, while ice cream cones are just called ice cream. Chewing gum sticks are described as something like “board gums” and the bubble gum is referred to as the “droplet gum.” Gums without sugar are called sugar-free gums. In the North, soda is known as carbonated sweet water, which can be flavored with apple, pear or omija or a five-flavor berry. Coke is called cocoa-flavored carbonated sweet water, while Sprite is called cider. 

North Korea produces various types of snacks using dairy products. Names of milk products indicate particular substances added to them. For example, there is calcium milk, vitamin milk, strawberry milk, apple milk, corn milk, peach milk and muskmelon milk. Nutritious milk for children is also found. Milk is associated with nutrition, and some milk products are named after nutrients. Yogurt is otherwise expressed as sour milk, as it is a fermented milk product. Yogurt products include peach yogurt and jujube yogurt. 

Without a doubt, Choco Pie is one of the most popular snacks in North Korea. South Korean companies doing business at the inter-Korean joint industrial complex in Gaeseong used to provide the chocolate coated snack cakes to North Korean laborers working there. The South Korean snack was so popular that it was traded at high prices at North Korea’s private market or jangmadang and it was even regarded as a symbol representing the wealthy class. After the shutdown of the industrial park, North Korea began to produce its own version of Choco Pie. 

Choco Pie enjoys worldwide popularity. The snack was pretty popular among workers in North Korea, where it was hard to find similar products. North Korean workers consumed the snack cakes themselves while working, and often brought them home to give them to their children. Rumors about the delicious South Korean snack spread through word of mouth and it became a popular item at the jangmadang. Starting from the Gaeseong Industrial Park, Choco Pie spread to other North Korean regions. 

Products similar to Choco Pie are found in China as well. North Korea made its own Choco Pie version called Chocolate Sweet Seolgi. But I heard the cake tends to stick to the bag due to poor packing and surface coating. 

In recent years, North Korea has held an exhibition of candy and cookie sculptures around the Day of the Sun on April 15, which is the birthday of former leader Kim Il-sung. Chefs at large restaurants and workers at food factories participate in the event. Some of the displayed works featured the themes of famous buildings in Pyongyang or characters shown in North Korean animated films. The 2017 event showed sculptures inspired by characters of foreign animated films, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 

It is common to find exhibitions of bread art or sugar art. Those exhibitions involve the creation of sculptures made of bread or sugar. Similarly, some upscale restaurants display fruit sculptures. 

North Korea has been holding the candy and cookie sculpture exhibition since 2016. Competitions are held in the two different categories—candy and cookie—for the purpose of encouraging the development of various snack products and raising social awareness of them. Works that are highly appreciated at the exhibition are given the award certificate and medal. 

Since the international community has strengthened sanctions against North Korea in 2016, the country has stressed self-reliance. Along with the protracted international sanctions, the border closure triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has made the prices of daily necessities skyrocket in North Korea. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the country to secure food and raw materials. Accordingly, the North puts even greater pressure on all industries to produce goods on their own. The confectionery industry is no exception. 

North Korea tries hard to produce snack products domestically, using ingredients available in local regions. It is also using patriotism as a marketing tool, urging the people to buy domestic products. 

In fact, it is far from easy for a product to be competitive. South Korean snack products were able to penetrate the international market because they survived the fierce competition against countless alternatives and their marketability was fully verified. For a product to stay competitive, it should meet multiple requirements. But North Korean infrastructure is simply inadequate for now. That’s why the North focuses on the local production of goods. In a sense, localization is North Korea’s only choice in the current situation. 

At the plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party late last year, North Korea pledged to continue with its policy line of developing a self-reliant economy. It is said that North Korea produces snacks using local ingredients. But it is questionable if the country will be able to overcome the economic crisis through its localization policy alone.