It is not much of a gift set when people are told they have to first pay for it, especially when the items are of inferior quality:
To celebrate its seventh congress, Pyongyang distributed one tube of toothpaste, one toothbrush and one bottle of liquor per household, the Tokyo-based Asia Press reported on Wednesday, citing sources in North Korea. Not only were the gifts sets depressingly mean – they weren’t even free.
“Collective farms near where I live refused to take the gift sets because they cost about 1,500 (North Korean) won [$1.67],” a source was quoted as saying, “and I didn’t claim them, either.”
The anonymous source added that the toothpaste distributed by the government was unpopular among the public because of its much lower quality compared to products from China. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
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