Lesson from North Korea: Invent rather than imitate

In the world, imitation became a trend.

If there is one country that tends towards invention, not imitation, it is precisely the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, something that contrasts with this reality.

A few years ago, Pyongyang hosted an exhibition of machinery and equipment, which displayed an 80 hp tractor, a 115 hp diesel engine truck, a new type bus, a good performance electric motor locomotive, a multifunctional fishing boat, a 5,000-ton trading vessel, various transformers and electric motors, multifunctional high-performance agricultural machinery.

All of these products were produced by Korean scientists, technicians, and workers with their own techniques.

Among the products on display that have caught the world’s attention is an amorphous iron core transformer. The technique of fabricating an amorphous alloy strip made by successive rapid cooling, an essential technique in its manufacture, was supposed to be monopolized by a few countries that claim to be technical powers.

But Korean scientists managed to develop it on their own.

When touring the exhibition, Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, said the machines and equipment manufactured by Korean scientists, technicians, and workers were all world-wide level, adding that what especially rejoices him was that they produced them not by imitating foreign samples, but with their convictions.

The citizens of Pyongyang who use the new type of train, trolleybuses, trams made in the country boast of their quality by comparing them with those of other countries. In department stores and other stores, many customers, buying consumer goods and home-produced food, sincerely encourage their producers, who in turn redouble their efforts in their production.

Currently, the reality of the DPRK working to invent and create things of its own rather than imitating foreign models is attracting the interest of many countries.

They, therefore, tend to increase economic and technical exchanges with it.

Written by: Alhassan Mamman Muhammad, Professor of the University of Abuja)