Software Engineering in North Korea

Obviously someone out there thinks 1600 euros a month is a good deal for two guys who cannot IM you when they run into a mind-numbingly common blocker. Or that the internet connection (and the salary of a third politically-reliable guy to censor the internet traffic of the first two) is worth another 800 euros of productivity to two guys who have never heard of stackoverflow and don't go on Skype to do language exchange to improve their English skills.

But for me, if I want a cheap Korean-speaking programmer, I'd go to Yanbian or Shenyang in Northeast China. And if I wanted to do my part to liberalise North Korea, I'd lend some money to a Chinese cross-border trader so he can buy more South Korean DVDs and cellphones to sell in Sinuiju.