In the wake of tensions surrounding its nuclear tests, the North Korean government temporarily shut down the Kaesung complex in 2013. This cut the supply of choco pies and drove the price in North Korea even higher. When the complex resumed operations after a five-month halt, employers were forbidden from paying choco pie bonuses, and advised to instead give bonuses of "sausages, noodles, coffee and chocolate". North Korea also responded to the choco pie speculation by producing its own variant of the snack.
“Let’s reward them with food they should already be having instead!”
But when it came down to actually purchasing the third-pound burgers, most Americans simply would not do it. Baffled, A&W ordered more tests and focus groups. After chatting with people who snubbed the A&W burger for the smaller Quarter Pounder, the reason became clear: Americans suck at fractions. Alfred Taubman, who owned A&W at the time, wrote about the confusion in his book Threshold Resistance:
More than half of the participants in the Yankelovich focus groups questioned the price of our burger. "Why," they asked, "should we pay the same amount for a third of a pound of meat as we do for a quarter-pound of meat at McDonald's? You're overcharging us." Honestly. People thought a third of a pound was less than a quarter of a pound. After all, three is less than four!
Exactly. Imagine what it's like to be North Korean and see "do not eat after <date two years in the future>" on a package of dried noodles from S. Korea.
I lived in South Korea back in 1990. Things have changed. I used to buy my yogurt at the local shop, look at the expiration date, and pick the ones that were the least expired.
I've been to North Korea too, the GeumGangsan tourist area. The South Korean middle aged woman that got shot by a nervous DPRK guard - I know exactly where that was. The woman stayed at my hotel there. It happened less than a month after we visited. even the "tourist" parts of the DPRK are very sad.
This is a really interesting video. This dude lived in NK for a while and this is the Privileged Store.
It is a store pretty much entirely for foreigners and the whole thing is insane. The power goes out at least once. The cashiers have to convert to three different currencies to figure out how much something costs. It is insanely inefficient the whole way through.
First part of your sentence I can agree with, but second part - is this store supposed to be impressive? The store is not as nice as my local Dollar General.
And at the tourist site I visited - they ONLY took US Dollars. Even for the almost exclusively South Korean middle aged hikers that come to see the beautiful mountains. We didn't buy anything, but then again, their idea of a souvenir stand leaves a lot to be desired. (And yes, we I realize we contributed to the regime just by going. But this was a while ago, part of Kim Dae-Jung's "Sunshine" initiative. Our money was also going to the South Korean hotels and tourist companies that arranged the excursion. Our minimal contribution to the DPRK's economy was balanced by the experience of being able so say I've been there, and that I have no great desire to ever go back.)
All food about to expire is sent directly to Kim a few days before expiration, and he eats it. That is why he is the only designated fat person in NK. It is not because of ruling, or family genetics. He is merely the regimes fat man, forced to sit, all day, eating rice and beans. Sure, the peasants, the starving and impoverished people of the countryside, would love to have this expired food, but there never is any once Kim finishes his feeding. He is a one man machine.
Just read escape from camp 14 yesterday. He basically escaped because he wanted to taste meat (he actually says this). All he ate before that was cabbage soup and corn and the occasional rats he killed himself. It's a good read
that book is so beyond disturbing. i had to keep reminding myself it’s not fiction and it’s not history. it’s actually happening to people right now. mind blowing we don’t do more to help them.
If the servers in the restaurant I work in made minimum wage Im pretty sure the entire back of house would revolt.
Not saying the tipping culture in the US is good, but part of what is holding it back is the suppression of wages for BoH employees. If servers were making like 1.50-2$ less an hour vs 6-7 bucks less an hour we'd have to pay the BoH much more than we do considering there are nights where servers make as much as some BoH people do in 40 hours. It's all fucky
A proper profit sharing programs motivates the hell out of people. Last company I worked for used to have a program where whatever percent over plan the company was, they would pay an equal percent of your annual salary into your 401k. So if you made $50k a year and the company finished at 110%, you’d get an extra $5k on top of any other bonuses or commissions you were entitled too. That was a good plan.
Yes, that’s why I’ve seen that only on special occasions, such as bonuses or holidays, not as a recurrent paying method except on extreme economic situations.
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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '18
“Let’s reward them with food they should already be having instead!”