This may come as a shock, but apparently my Moon Pie post was not as loopy as it sounded to many of you. Turns out Moon Pies (or Orion Choco-Pies, their Russian/Asian doppelganger) really are a propaganda piece in the machine of Cold War. The present tensions between North and South Korea, that is.
My sister sent me a link to this very interesting article from The Daily Mail (UK)–looks like it was published today.
The opening lines of John Hall’s article read like this:
Chocs away! North Korea unleashes latest weapon against its rivals in the South – counterfeit Choco Pie cakes to rival delicacy available over the border
- North Korea has a roaring black market in the popular Choco Pie snack
- Sweet treats change hands for £3.60 in Pyongyang, but only 17p in Seoul
- So popular they are even used as alternative payment by some employers
- But Kim Jong-un is angry at the North’s love of a South Korean product
- He is now making his own Choco Pies in order to bring down their value
Well, Mr. Kim Jong-un, the joke is on you. You are just putty in the hands of the universal Moon Pie awakening.
Travels and Tomes: One Expat's Amblings and Ramblings 