[One Thousand Characters a Day] Convenience Store Promoter's 'Eojjeoda Convenience Store' <3>

Editor's NoteThe author, who works in the PR team of a convenience store company, met Team Leader H, who holds the title of 'the only North Korean convenience store manager in South Korea,' and heard about his experience running a store in the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The convenience store was among the first to enter North Korea when the Kaesong Industrial Complex was established and first operated in 2004 as part of the South-North economic cooperation project. It served as a convenience facility for more than 100 South Korean employees of companies located there. However, operations were repeatedly suspended and resumed whenever inter-Korean relations fluctuated, and ultimately, when the Kaesong Industrial Complex was abruptly closed in February 2016, the store was the last to remain in North Korea before shutting down. Team Leader H, who had to withdraw without properly saying goodbye to the North Korean employees working at the convenience store, still misses them deeply even after eight years. Word count: 991 characters.

The convenience store was the only refuge for South Korean employees stationed in the Kaesong Industrial Complex. Although North Korean residents were not allowed to use it, except for two managers dispatched from headquarters, all staff members were North Korean personnel. Because of this, it was called a small space of unification. The monthly salary for North Korean workers was about 70 dollars. Although the money probably did not go directly into their pockets, they worked more diligently than anyone else. The North Korean employees even knew the word "part-time job," and sometimes when curious customers asked, "Is the young lady a part-timer here?" they would correct them with a serious face, insisting, "I'm not a part-timer, I'm an employee." They were quite intelligent talents even in North Korea. They remembered every customer's face and thoroughly checked product information whenever new stock arrived, enthusiastically focusing on sales. They were so capable and sharp that if possible, the company would have liked to scout them to South Korea.

The products sold were no different from those in convenience stores in South Korea. They sold everything from alcohol and cigarettes to ready-to-eat meals like lunch boxes, over-the-counter medicines, and various daily necessities. Products were delivered once daily from a logistics center in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, and supplied as export goods after customs clearance. Although South and North Korea are separated by ideology and are very close geographically, since the location was outside South Korean territory, all products had to be priced in dollars in principle, and prices were displayed converted into dollars according to the exchange rate. Sometimes, when glass products were wrapped in newspapers for delivery from the logistics center, if an article disparaging North Korea was found, a fine had to be paid without exception. It was absurd, but that was the rule there. Because of this, the logistics center staff in South Korea read the newspapers as carefully as the order requests.

The most popular products were coffee mix and Choco Pie. These sweet treats, representing South Korea, were given as snacks to the hardworking North Korean compatriots during their breaks. How did they perceive the taste of capitalism?

(Omitted)

Thus, the convenience store in the Kaesong Industrial Complex was a comforting home for the South Korean employees to soothe their longing for South Korea, and for the North Korean workers, it was a revolutionary place where they could experience the culture of the nearby yet distant South Korea.

－Yu Cheol-hyun, Accidental Convenience Store, Dolbegae, 17,500 KRW