Published Date:
04 July 2009
By Kwang-Tae Kim in Seoul
IN AN apparent first, North Korea – a country that struggles to feed its 24 million people – has aired a beer commercial on state television.
The advertisement, which lasted nearly three minutes after a news programme on Thursday, showed a grinning Korean with sweat on his face holding a glass of beer, with a caption that read, "Taedong River Beer is the pride of Pyongyang".
It also showed images of a pub it said was in the capital filled with people drinking. Normally, there are no adverts on TV in North Korea, a communist country wary of capitalist influences.
Programming consists of news, factory descriptions, children's animation shows and documentaries on leader Kim Jong Il and his father Kim Il Sung, interspersed with propaganda slogans and music, according to a South Korean official.
The official, who has been monitoring the North's television for more than two decades, said it was the first time he had seen any sort of advertisement for food, much less beer.
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Last Updated:
03 July 2009 10:03 PM
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Source:
The Scotsman
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Location:
Edinburgh
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Related Topics:
North Korea
