북한담배의 사회적 기능과 의미: ‘담배 뇌물 고이기’ 현상을 중심으로

Abstract

This study began by raising the problematic consciousness that the social structure of North Korea seen through “cigarette bribery(Goigi)” could offer important clues to assess the durability of the North Korean regime in the future. The study first examined the official anti-smoking policies of the North Korean authorities and then the cases in which North Korean residents used cigarettes as a bribe to analyze the phenomenon in North Korea. As for methodology, the investigator interviewed a group of North Korean defectors and found that residents in North Korea needed to give cigarettes as a bribe across all the areas of daily life in order to lead a life. The study focused on cigarettes in North Korea because the life of North Korean residents was inseparable from the social aspects of North Korea. Based on the findings, the study reached a conclusion that there should be ongoing interest in the effects of North Korean residents' living aspects and bribe structure around North Korean cigarettes and the social network according to corruption and graft on future changes to the North Korean society and further the North Korean regime.