Skinny jeans, adult films and human excrement sell 'like hot cakes' in North Korea

Skinny jeans, adult films and human excrement are among some of the most wanted items for consumers in North Korea.

Kim Young-soo, a professor at Seoul's Sogang University who has interviewed several recent defectors from the Communist country, said that the items were selling "like hot cakes". Other popular items sold in North Korea included TV dramas and instant noodles, he said.



Shops began selling human excrement to deal with acute shortages of fertiliser in North Korea. "Each household used to use human excrement as fertilizer, but because it's hard to keep up with the amount, human manure shops showed up at markets," Professor Kim said.

Skinny jeans also became popular items for sale in the North after a ban on fashionable trousers was lifted. "Skinny jeans are now popular and are changing the fashion style of women in Pyongyang," Professor Kim said.