A 17-year-old from Vancouver, Canada, has been unraveling a surprising detail about her recent car purchase: it might have originated from North Korea.
Amid the excitement of getting a new car, Dakota's stepdad noticed an unusual detail on the paperwork for the 2005 Kia Amanti. It listed the origin as "Korea, Democratic People's Republic Of."
"I was bewildered," Dakota told Newsweek.
She explained that her stepfather was looking over the paperwork and thought it was funny that it said "Korea, Democratic People's Republic Of," instead of "Democratic People's Republic Of Korea."
"I thought [it] was silly too, until it hit me that that's North Korea and not South Korea like he had thought," the new car owner said.
The confusion arises from the fact that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) which typically refers to North Korea, while the official name for South Korea is the Republic of Korea (ROK). However, Dakota speculates that the paperwork might be accurate, considering the historical context of the Korean Peninsula.
"The DPRK used to have a car manufacturing facility next to the Korean Demilitarized Zone where they would make South Korean brands of cars. The car is old enough to have been made during the time at which it was in operation," Dakota explained.
"It's also possible that it was made in South Korea, and whoever wrote the document just searched 'Korea' and clicked the one that sounded correct to them," she added.
The automotive industry in the DPRK has its origins in the Soviet era, with the country beginning motor-vehicle production using licenses obtained from the USSR.
After uncovering the paperwork, Dakota decided to share the story on Reddit where she put a picture of the paperwork on the popular r/mildlyinteresting subreddit. Here it received over 9,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments from interested people.
The historical background adds a layer of complexity to this unusual situation, as North Korea did operate a joint car manufacturing facility with South Korea near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) before diplomatic relations soured, and the facility produced South Korean brands during its operation.
But not everyone was sure that the paperwork was correct. Reddit user rpunx said: "That's a very cool mistake! If your Kia has a number as the first VIN, it's North American assembled. If it's a K, South Korea," and Dakota replied: "Interesting! it does in fact have a K as the first letter in the VIN, I assume whoever wrote the document just typed Korea."
While whoospea commented: "The car proof data is incorrect, Kia's are not assembled in North Korea."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Alice Gibbs is a Newsweek Senior Internet Trends & Culture Reporter based in the U.K. For the last two years ... Read more
