According to recent reports, more than 80% of North Koreans are apparently buying and selling goods on the black market or engaging in other commercial activities to make a living. Experts suggest that this trend is wide-spread enough to dispel concerns that North Koreans would have a hard time adjusting to capitalism if the two Koreas were to reunite.
One study based on 2009 census data suggests that 83% of North Koreans or 14.48 million citizens derive some of their income from commercial activity. In North Hamgyong Province, which suffered heavily from famines, the figure is closer to 93%, and even in Pyongyang, which still has a functioning ration system, the proportion is around 56%. Another study conducted by Seoul National University found that 70% of North Korean defectors had experience selling goods in open-air markets or with other commercial activity. Kim Byung-yeon at Seoul National University said North Koreans sold anything from fruit and vegetables grown in their own gardens to meat and fish, home-made food products, goods stolen from state factories, products smuggled across the border and even international aid goods.
Furthermore, Cho Bong-hyun of the IBK Economic Research Institute stated that there are currently around 500,000 businesses in North Korea. Around 400,000 are small service businesses such as barber shops and restaurants, and around 100,000 are involved in manufacturing. Although private businesses are prohibited in principle, they are tolerated as long as they give a portion of their earnings to the state. An informal financial market has also sprung up in the form of loan sharks who have grown rich selling goods at open-air markets and have now turned to lending money.
