Felix Abt's Blog, page 9
June 30, 2014
PROPAGANDA, RESTAURANTS AND WAITRESSES
Singing waitresses in a...
PROPAGANDA, RESTAURANTS AND WAITRESSES
Singing waitresses in a Pyongyang restaurant entertain their diners: to the casual Western observer it might well be dismissed as just another jingoistic propaganda song. And while it’s true that propaganda is still pervasive in North Korea, these singers delighted their audience with a rendition of ‘O Sole Mio’ that more than held its own against the efforts of the late Enrico Caruso and Luciano Pavarotti…
Read more about propaganda (and restaurants and singing waitresses!) in Felix Abt’s book A CAPITALIST IN NORTH KOREA: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom
IF THE CAP FITS - GOLF IN NORTH KOREA
Felix Abt proudly...
IF THE CAP FITS - GOLF IN NORTH KOREA
Felix Abt proudly displays his new PYONGYANG GOLF CLUB caps (with additional logos…) recently bought at the Pyongyang Golf Course.
As businessmen the world over know, deals are just as likely to be clinched on the golf course as in the boardroom. And North Korea is no exception. As a foreign business person in North Korea be prepared to wheel and deal on the golf course, or in a restaurant or karaoke room, rather than in a stuffy meeting room.
So don’t forget to pack your clubs and brush up on the lyrics of “My Way” or “It’s Raining Men” before your business trip. And if you pass Felix on the fairway, give him a wave!
For all the details about changing business practices in North Korea read his book A CAPITALIST IN NORTH KOREA: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom
IF THE CAP FITS - GOLF IN NORTH KOREA
Felix Abt proudly...
IF THE CAP FITS - GOLF IN NORTH KOREA
Felix Abt proudly displays his new PYONGYANG GOLF CLUB caps (with additional logos…) recently bought at the Pyongyang Golf Course.
As businessmen the world over know, deals are just as likely to be clinched on the golf course as in the boardroom. And North Korea is no exception. As a foreign business person in North Korea be prepared to wheel and deal on the golf course, or in a restaurant or karaoke room, rather than in a stuffy meeting room.
So don’t forget to pack your clubs and brush up on the lyrics of “My Way” or “It’s Raining Men” before your business trip. And if you pass Felix on the fairway, give him a wave!
For all the details about changing business practices in North Korea read his book A CAPITALIST IN NORTH KOREA: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom
NORTH KOREA’S NEW (SWEET) WEAPONS
“We need nukes for our...
NORTH KOREA’S NEW (SWEET) WEAPONS
“We need nukes for our self-defense and calorie bombs for our well-being”, a North Korean jokingly told Felix Abt.
And judging by this selection from one of the many impressively sugary arsenals that Abt saw in North Korea, they seem to be achieving at least half of this aspiration.
To find out the truth about the old and the new weapons, read his captivating book A CAPITALIST IN NORTH KOREA: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom
"DESPERATE NORTH KOREANS CAN’T GET ENOUGH CHOCO PIES"
The...
"DESPERATE NORTH KOREANS CAN’T GET ENOUGH CHOCO PIES"
The Western media had a feeding frenzy over this story-line with widespread coverage from the likes of CNN and the Washington Times (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/28/desperate-north-koreans-cant-get-enough-choco-pies/).
“Desperate North Koreans without any sweets” seemed to be at the top of the international political agenda. But, as with much reportage, it didn’t let the facts get in the way of a good headline.
For good or ill (depending on whether you have a sweet tooth or are more worried about the state of your teeth) North Korea’s factories have been churning out snack cakes of their own, in every way faithful to their Choco Pies ‘parents’ and with a myriad of sugary ‘cousins’ to pander for that insatiable Asian craving for the sweet and sickly.
More about changing eating habits in North Korea in Felix Abt’s book A CAPITALIST IN NORTH KOREA: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom
June 29, 2014
FOOD FOR BODY, SPIRIT AND PROSPERITY.
If being able to eat out...
FOOD FOR BODY, SPIRIT AND PROSPERITY.
If being able to eat out can be taken as an indicator of prosperity, then Felix Abt is convinced that the increasing number of North Koreans finding the surplus cash to treat their families to dinner in a restaurant (as seen here in the background) is a sure sign that economic well-being is on the up.
As in many Asian countries, providing food for others also nourishes the entrepreneurial spirit and restaurants have become a lucrative opportunity for North Korean business people, who own them semi-officially.
For more on the North Korean ways of doing business read Felix Abt’s fascinating insights in A CAPITALIST IN NORTH KOREA: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom
TWO-WHEELED FARMERS – THE COUNTRYSIDE ON THE MOVE…
Just a few...
TWO-WHEELED FARMERS – THE COUNTRYSIDE ON THE MOVE…
Just a few decades ago, North Korea’s pastoral scene was heavily punctuated with the steady chugging of tractors criss-crossing its endless paddy fields, helping raise production and ease the labours of the agrarian workers. The country was justly proud of the level of its agricultural mechanisation; the number of its steel workhorses far out-stripping those of its Asian neighbours. Now, the only blemishes on the sea of green are the bent backs of the labourers, the ever present water buffaloes and the white splashes of egrets. Few mechanical beasts are to be seen prowling the landscape.
The reason for the decline? The story behind this mechanical rise and fall is revealed in Felix Abt’s A CAPITALIST IN NORTH KOREA: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom.
But Felix observed signs that the downward slide has been reversing: with more and more farmers taking to bicycles for their daily commute to the fields. Not fleets of combine harvesters, but a clear sign that movement is in the right direction.
Read more about North Korean agriculture and farmers in Felix’s book:
June 27, 2014
NORTH KOREA’S FOOTBALL FANS’ SWEET TOOTH
Over the years, North...
NORTH KOREA’S FOOTBALL FANS’ SWEET TOOTH
Over the years, North Korea’s media increased coverage of international sports events like Olympic games and football championships. The country has a large community of football aficionados.
On the occasion of the FIFA Football World Championship 2014 in Brazil an industrial bakery churned out football cakes, as seen here, to help the fans duly celebrate their favorite sport. Visiting Felix Abt “inspected” the North Korean factory, tasted the cakes and found them delicious.
More about football and other popular sports in North Korea in his book A CAPITALIST IN NORTH KOREA: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom, here:
http://www.amazon.com/Felix-Abt/e/B00JT7W63Y/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
THE GREATEST SHOCK IN WORLD CUP HISTORY WAS CAUSED BY A NORTH...
THE GREATEST SHOCK IN WORLD CUP HISTORY WAS CAUSED BY A NORTH KOREAN FOOTBALL TEAM!
On June 1, 2010, AFP wrote: “North Korea 1 Italy 0. Four decades on, the sensational defeat of the two-time world champions by a team of unknowns from the insular nation ranks as perhaps the greatest shock in World Cup history.”
The North Korean national soccer team obtained their upset victory over world champion Italy in Middlesborough, England, on 19th July 1966. For a few days in the summer of 1966, Pak Doo Ik, an army corporal, was the most famous footballer in the world; he was the scorer of the goal that knocked haughty Italy out of the World Cup.
The picture shows Felix Abt, resident country director, North Korea, of the multinational engineering group ABB, together with Pak Doo Ik (sitting in the middle), who is still hugely popular in North Korea, and other members of his soccer team. ABB was one of the sponsors of a documentary film by Dan Gordon and Nicholas Bonner on this historic sport event.
More about this and other sport events in Felix Abt’s book A CAPITALIST IN NORTH KOREA: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom http://www.amazon.com/Felix-Abt/e/B00JT7W63Y/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
