Last time, we reported that North Korea had placed an unspoken ban on the chocolate, marshmallow cakey-goodness that is the Choco Pie. Now, South Korean activists have shown that they sympathize with North Korea's tragic loss, and have sent over a free Choco Pie supply in an uplifting fashion--by balloon mail!
Earlier in the week, anti-North Korean activists gathered in the city of Paju, which is located near the border of North Korea, and released 50 helium balloons carrying 10,000 Choco Pies! Although these activists normally send over balloons carrying anti-North Korean government leaflets, Choo Sun Hee, an organizer of the event, explained that they wanted to treat the "hungry North Koreans" to a beloved snack they were surely craving.
Can you imagine seeing Choco Pie floating down from the skies? Talk about a gift from the heavens.
The North Korean government will not be too pleased with this however, as they have already pressed the South Korean government to stop these activists with their ballooning before. It has even threatened to shell the launch sites if they choose to continue.
Yikes.
All jokes aside, hopefully this Choco Pie shebang will not result in anyone actually getting hurt. The choco-marshmallow-combo is all kinds of yummy and all, but not worth risking injury over.
Unfortunately, North Korea definitely views Choco Pie as a threat. As we reported last time, the Choco Pie was introduced to the North Koreans via the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the jointly-run North & South Korean facility in the North Korean border city. Choco Pies would be given as bonuses to the workers. These workers, sick of being underpaid and seeing the value of the delicious mini-pie, would make extra money by selling them in the North Korean Choco Pie black market, making them readily available for North Koreans. Some estimate that around 2.5 million of these pies were traded in the market per month.
It's possible that the North Korean authorities view the Choco Pie as a symbol of capitalism, as it's being used as a currency in itself. Whatever the reason, they have targeted the pie as a threat, and have been filtering it out of Kaesong since earlier this month. The anti-NK activists, on the other hand, have expressed their desire to continue balloon-mailing over these Choco Pies from now on. Although I congratulate them on their ballsy move, I hope that they know what they're doing.
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