North Korea
North Korea has the structural profile of a relatively industrialized country where nearly half of the Gross Domestic Product is generated by industry and human development is at medium levels. Purchasing power parity (PPP) GDP is estimated at $40 billion, with a very low per capita value of $1,800. In 2012, Gross national income per capita was $1,523, compared to $28,430 in South Korea. The North Korean won is the national currency, issued by the Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Tongil Market
The market is busy with customers. Prices are in North Korean won and haggling is commonplace. Some prices on par with those in Chinese markets, with vegetables being somewhat more expensive but seafood and clothes generally cheaper. The prices are, however, not particularly cheap in relation to average incomes of North Koreans. For instance, spinach costs 1,000 won at the Tongil Market, fifty times as much as its 20-won price tag at rural markets in North Korea. Because the market is well-stocked, it has been suspected of being a "showpiece", but in fact its wares are comparable to other markets in the country. Its customer base is, however, mainly foreign vistors and domestic elites. The market is open to foreign vistors, and many embassies in Pyongyang use it for shopping. Photography is not allowed. One foreigner, Pamela Bryant, a visiting professor at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology relates how one of her faculty members broke the rule resulting in the entire faculty being banned from the market for three months.