A short article in The Korea Times today notes that LG home appliances are more popular in North Korea than those manufactured by Samsung. Even though North Korea is generally regarded as a "closed" society, quite a few Samsung and LG television sets enter the country through China. To prevent the flow of South Korean electronics products, North Korea started a registration system for television sets in May of this year.
The most interesting point of this story was the reason for LG's popularity. Reportedly, many people in the North don't know that LG is a South Korean brand, thinking instead that it is an international brand like Sony. The story also notes that in electronics categories like computers and digital cameras, Samsung is considered better than LG. Although this is anecdotal evidence of what is happening these days in North Korea, it is interesting and thought-provoking.