49c-7-226
North Korean traders returning from China stock up on clothes, secondhand sewing machines and consumer goods. Paradoxically, those social groups that in the past have borne the brunt of the regime's persecution have gained most from this growth in private trade. Japanese-Koreans have used remittances from relatives overseas as start-up capital for new trading businesses. North Koreans of Chinese origin and those with Korean-Chinese relatives across the border take advantage of their relative freedom to travel.
As much as the economic impact, the cultural effect of this cross-border exchange is already huge and still unfolding. Andrei Lankov of the Australian National University, an astute observer of North Korea, describes how a relatively minor technological revolution in China changed the lives of many North Koreans. Earlier this decade DVD players fell dramatically in price, so South Korean households quickly dumped their old VCRs in favour of the new players. Smugglers picked up the old units for next to nothing and sold them in North Korea for $40 or so apiecea price that plenty of urban North Korean families could afford if they saved up.
The consequence was what Mr Lankov calls a 'video revolution': a flood of South Korean soap operas, melodramas and music videos entering North Korea by the same route and delighting new audiences. The impact of the astounding affluence on displaythe stars' clothes and cars, Seoul's glittering skylineexposes the central lie on which the regime bases its claim to rule: that South Korea is backward, impoverished and exploited. Korean-language programming from abroad on radio sets imported from China (and thus not tuned permanently to state radio) reinforces this discovery. Thus, disillusion and anger with the regime only mounts. In the IIE surveys nine-tenths of the interviewees disagreed that either the regime or the economy were getting better.

A. 어휘
stock up on 사들이다, 비축하다. secondhand sewing machine 中古(중고) 재봉기.
sew-sewed-sewed(sewn). 꿰매다, 깁다. paradoxically 역설적으로, 모순이 되는.
bear-bore-borne 견디다. brunt 猛攻(맹공).
bear the brunt of [공격, 긴장 따위를]견디다. gain most 이득을 가장 많이 보다.
growth in private trade 민간무역의 성장. remittance 送金(송금).
start-up 開業(개업), 操業(조업) 開始(개시). capital 자금.
cross-border exchange 국경을 건너서 일어나는 交換(교환). unfold 드러내다.
astute 통찰력이 날카로운, 機敏(기민)한. the old units→old VCRs.
next to nothing 거의 공짜로. soap opera 연속극. astounding 놀라운.
affluence 豊饒(풍요). on display 진열되고 있는, 눈에 보이는. glitter 반짝이다.
expose 노출시키다. backward 발전이 뒤쳐진, 후진적인. impoverished 가난해진.
exploit 착취하다. radio set 라디오수신기.
tune [TV, 라디오 프로그램에] 주파수를 맞추다. permanently 영원히.
reinforce 강화하다, 補强(보강)하다. disillusion 환멸. mount 올라가다, 상승하다.

B. 구문
- exposes the central lie . . . claim to rule.
[통치권에 대한 정당성을 주장하는 근거가 되는 중심적인 거짓말을 노출시킨다.]
- thus not tuned . . . state radio.
[이래서 국영방송에 영원히 주파수를 맞추지 않은]

49c-8-227
On the border
In the face of what Mr Caryl, the journalist, calls the 'profound epistemological shock' of North Koreans who have glimpsed another world, the regime has adopted an ambivalent attitude. Although those caught crossing the border can face harsh punishments, the regime, if it was minded to, could be much more brutal. The penal code was revised in 2004 to differentiate between 'economic' refugees and 'political' ones (though refugees say judicial proceedings under the new code are often skipped and torture is still used). Border-crossers can buy a degree of protection by bribing local authoritiesborder guards are even rotated every six months so that more of them can get a share of the spoils. The border with China is, as Peter Beck, a scholar of North Korea, describes it, both the regime's safety valve, providing an alternative living to the dysfunctional state economy, and its Achilles heel.
In daily life, the regime appears to be re-establishing its grip in some areas but losing it more often in others. Since 2005, after a decent enough harvest, the regime sought to take control of burgeoning markets, redirect grain supplies through the public distribution system and get people back to their work units. First men were banned from selling in the markets, and more recently women under 50 too. The attempt at control has been only partly successful.

A. 어휘
in the face of ...에 직면하여. epistemological 認識論的(인식론적)인.
glimpse 힐끗 보다, 一瞥(일별)하다. adopt 채택하다.
ambivalent 반대감정이 양립하는, 이중의식의. brutal 잔인한, 야만적인.
penal code 刑法(형법). revise 改定(개정)하다. differentiate 구별하다.
judicial 司法(사법)의. judicial proceedings 사법절차, 소송절차. skip 건너뛰다.
border-crosser 국경을 건너가는 사람. a degree of 어느 정도의. protection 보호.
bribe 뇌물을 주다. local authorities 지방당국자. border guard 국경 경비병.
rotate 교대하다. spoils 戰利品(전리품). safety valve 安全瓣(안전판).
alternative 대신의, 양자택일의. dysfunctional 機能障礙(기능장애)의. grip 지배력, 장악.
burgeon 싹 트게 하다. grain supply 곡물공급. ban 금지하다.