27. North Korea's new rich
How the other 0.0000001% live
(May 29th 2008 | PYONGYANG From The Economist print edition)

The hermit kingdom's elite spend, spend, spend

27-1-115
EVERY developing country worth its salt has a bustling middle class that is transforming the country and thrilling the markets. So does Stalinist North Korea. Oblivious of rumours that famine is gathering again and that the state's food-distribution system is breaking down, the country's pampered elite went on a shopping spree at the Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair, held on May 12th-15th.
Originally designed to promote business-to-business contacts, the trade fair, along with a companion event in the autumn, has become one of the few opportunities for North Koreans--or, more accurately, a few thousand residents of the capital--to buy, or gawk at, foreign merchandise. More than 100 Chinese companies, together with some from Taiwan, Indonesia, Britain and North Korea itself, offered up everything from T-shirts to heavy machinery. Cutting-edge technology it wasn't. Duvets, refrigerators, flat-screen televisions, DVD players, cooking pots and cosmetics were the most popular items. More than 15 units of one of the show's most expensive items, a $1,200 refrigerator from Haier, a Chinese company, were snapped up. Counterfeit iPods were also popular, even if downloading is illegal.

A. 어휘
rich 부유층. hermit 隱者(은자).
worth its salt 정상적으로 운영되고 있는, 봉급만큼의 일을 하고있는.
bustling 바쁜 듯한, 떠들썩한. transform 변형시키다. oblivious 망각하고 있는.
famine 饑饉(기근). gather 심해지다, 쌓이다. distribution 분배, 배급.
pamper 포식하다, 충분히 만족시키다. go on 계속하다. spree 흥청대기.
fair 박람회. companion 친구. companion event 동반행사. accurately 정확하게.
resident 거주자. capital 수도. gawk 얼빠진 듯이 바라보다, 멍청이.
merchandise 상품. cutting-edge 최첨단의. duvets 고급섬유제품.
flat-screen television 평면 텔레비전. pot 항아리. cooking pot 전기밥솥.
cosmetics 화장품. snap up 앞을 다투어 거래하다, 잘 팔리다. counterfeit 위조의.
illegal 불법적인.

B. 구문
-Originally designed
→Though originally it(the trade fair) was designed
→Originally having been designed→ Originally designed

27-2-116
North Korea's new rich make their money from political connections. But one shortage they don't seem to face is that of American dollars. The main sources of foreign exchange--apart from counterfeiting (fake $100 bills circulated at the fair)--are foreign trade and North Koreans' relatives abroad, particularly those in South Korea and Japan. Kim Kwang-jin, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy in Seoul, estimates that $50m-60m in American currency circulates in the hermit kingdom, based on a survey conducted at the behest of the “dear leader”, Kim Jong Il, in the late 1990s.
In pursuit of the country's goal of becoming a net exporter, around 40 local enterprises also displayed their wares, including medicines, oil paintings, machinery, spectacles and a polarised-light device that the makers claimed could cure any disease. But it was the imports that galvanised people's inner shopper. A billboard at the entrance trumpeted the slogan “Building an Independent National Econom-y” and included numerous photographs of Kim Jong Il and his father inspecting farms and factories, a reminder to visitors of the all-embracing love and compassion of the Kim family. As the shopfest ended, however, some North Koreans refused to leave, demanding that the event's organiser allow them to continue their buying spree. The dear leader's love apparently wasn't enough.

A. 어휘
political connections 정치적 연줄. foreign exchange 外換(외환), 外貨(외화)
apart from ...은 그만두고, 제외하고. fake 가짜. relative 친척. fellow 특별연구원.
institute 연구소, 학회. national security 국가안보. strategy 전략. estimate 평가하다.
50m 5천만. cf. m=million. currency 通貨(통화). circulate 유통되다, 순환하다.
survey 調査(조사). at the behest of ...의 명령으로.
in pursuit of ...을 추구하여. net [에누리 없는] 正(정)... cf. the net price 正價(정가).
around 略(약). enterprise 기업. display 전시하다. spectacles 안경.
polarised-light 極性(극성)을 가진 빛. glvanise 갑자기 흥분시키다, 전기를 통하다.
inspect 시찰하다. reminder 생각나게 하는 것, 遺品(유품). embrace 껴안다.
compassion 憐憫(연민), 동정. shopfest 쇼핑축제. apparently 분명히.

B. 구문
- that of American dollars=the shortage of American dollars