27:
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The founders claimed that they had packed spools of sewing thread and large amounts of cash their bags when they went to North Korea. They brought the cash for the production with them because it was too complicated to do it through ordinary bank channels. They also said they had to supply everything
175:
In
November 2007, North Korean Embassy in Stockholm made a call to them. A North Korean attempted to convince them to buy a zinc factory and make jackets instead. In December 2007, they provided two pairs of jeans, one of them being a used pair, to North Korean delegation for inspection at a textile
183:
On
November 11, 2009, after two years, the jeans arrived at last in Stockholm. The jeans were intended to be sold at The Noko Jeans shop on December 4, which the label describes as its "museum", as well as at Aplace, a retail space within the PUB department store. The department store refused to
179:
On July 27, 2008, the trio arrived in
Pyongyang on a train from Beijing. The next 10 days were spent visiting textile factories. They were rejected by North Korea’s biggest textile producing company, but struck a deal with North Korea’s largest mining company, Trade4, which was also involved in
171:
On July 20, 2007, they were scrolling through a North Korean website and noticed a new page titled "Business". After clicking on a button, they found a list of goods that North Korea claimed to be able to export. They sent a email to the contact address and claimed that they were import-export
160:, it was the first company to insist to keep the label 'Made in North Korea' on the jeans. The company was founded in 2007 and ceased operations in 2011, however the company continued to post on social media until 2013.
307:
199:
The two unisex models were designed in collaboration with fashion designer Julia
Hederus. Both models are designed based on the Noko Jeans story. Both of the models were made in black denim.
187:
The company remained in business until 2011. In 2013, the company claimed to have only 100 pairs of jeans left. From
December 18, 2009 to February 6, 2010, Noko Jeans had a museum in
234:
At one point they were asked to import a zinc smelting oven and another asked for a pirated copy of Adobe
Acrobat as the person couldn't read the files they were sending him.
695:
237:
In 2009, when the founders returned to North Korea to see the progress, the jeans were not yet ready as the buttons were stuck somewhere between
Pakistan and Pyongyang.
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cooperate, claiming that it did not wish to become involved in politics. In 2010, the North Korean manufacturer also annulled their agreements with company.
168:
Noko Jeans was founded by
Swedish entrepreneurs Jakob Ohlsson, Jacob Aström and Tor Rauden Källstigen. The idea for the company came after they got drunk.
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during 2009. Each pair of jeans cost 1,500 kronor (£131) or ($ 220) which is more than two year’s wages for the average North Korean.
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managers of a fictitious company. A few hours later, they received a response thanking them for their interest.
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textile on their last day in North Korea. They signed a contract to produce 1,100 pairs of black jeans.
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579:"North Korean Jeans: A Tale of Three Swedes, a Glass of Vodka, and a Strange Pair of Denim"
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is more baggy, with a drop-crotch. Oke Loose Fit has a regular waist.
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New York Times — “North Korea-Made
Designer Jeans Launched in Sweden”
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fashion company. The company was best known for importing jeans from
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all the materials needed as North Korea doesn't produce anything.
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379:"From a Land Without Jeans, Denim Diplomacy - The New York Times"
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A total of 1,100 pairs of jeans were made by a mining company in
543:
Historical
Dictionary of Democratic People's Republic of Korea
292:"Dictatorship Denim: The Real Story Behind North Korean Jeans"
354:"BBC News - North Korean designer jeans go on sale in Sweden"
786:
464:"BBC News - Swedish store pulls sale of North Korea jeans"
604:"Made in North Korea: Business in a 'communist monarchy'"
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served as the inspiration for the names, Kara and Oke.
663:"Denim diplomacy: North Korea exports jeans to Sweden"
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bar where the founders spent their first evening in
633:"N. Korea's first designer jeans on sale in Sweden"
411:"Chic in Review | Karl Lagerfeld Dresses SpongeBob"
152:. Although the company was not the first to import
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767:Official Website (Now defunct) - archived version
489:"BBC News - Swedish store pulls North Korea jeans"
74:Jakob Ohlsson, Jacob Aström, Tor Rauden Källstigen
718:"Stockholm Store Drops North Korean Jeans Line"
16:Swedish company which sold North Korean clothes
262:"Swedish store pulls plug on N. Korean jeans"
8:
692:"North Korea Launches "Noko" Designer Jeans"
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19:
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546:. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 382.
205:is a tighter model with a regular waist.
763:The Huffington Post — "Denim Diplomacy"
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435:"North Korean jeans – DW – 12/07/2009"
514:"North Korea To Sell Jeans In Sweden"
7:
14:
724:. Associated Press. 2009-12-06.
774:Official Photo Gallery (Flickr)
736:from the original on 2023-06-07
698:from the original on 2012-10-14
673:from the original on 2020-11-09
643:from the original on 2021-05-17
614:from the original on 2022-12-26
560:from the original on 2023-08-02
445:from the original on 2021-05-25
310:from the original on 2022-11-27
272:from the original on 2021-09-19
540:Hoare, James E. (2019-09-04).
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1:
290:Schulz, Sandra (2010-01-08).
808:Clothing companies of Sweden
581:. 2015-08-26. Archived from
491:. 2019-08-30. Archived from
466:. 2020-11-09. Archived from
387:. 2023-10-20. Archived from
356:. 2023-05-31. Archived from
331:. 2010-04-13. Archived from
57:; 17 years ago
834:
661:Pidd, Helen (2009-12-04).
409:Leon, Sarah (2009-12-04).
24:
818:Economy of North Korea
787:HELLO IT'S Noko Jeans!
694:. Business Insider.
780:This is Our Factory
21:
722:The New York Times
384:The New York Times
117:1,100 jeans (2009)
553:978-1-5381-1974-7
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752:External links
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329:"Vice Style"
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102:Headquarters
34:Company type
296:Der Spiegel
158:North Korea
150:North Korea
138::
797:Categories
740:2023-10-20
702:2010-08-08
677:2020-05-12
647:2023-10-20
618:2023-10-20
589:2023-10-20
564:2024-01-11
526:2023-10-20
499:2023-10-20
474:2023-10-20
449:2023-10-20
420:2023-10-20
415:T Magazine
395:2023-10-20
364:2023-10-20
339:2023-10-20
314:2023-10-20
276:2023-10-20
248:References
226:Production
132:Noko Jeans
20:Noko Jeans
730:0362-4331
304:2195-1349
242:Pyongyang
220:Pyongyang
189:Södermalm
176:factory.
125:Kara, Oke
97:Dissolved
66:in Sweden
734:Archived
696:Archived
671:Archived
641:Archived
612:Archived
608:BBC News
558:Archived
519:HuffPost
443:Archived
308:Archived
270:Archived
266:NBC News
144:) was a
47:Clothing
44:Industry
637:Reuters
216:karaoke
164:History
146:Swedish
84: (
79:Defunct
71:Founder
60: (
52:Founded
38:Private
728:
550:
439:dw.com
302:
195:Design
136:Korean
122:Brands
106:Sweden
156:from
154:jeans
769:here
726:ISSN
548:ISBN
300:ISSN
214:The
141:노코진스
94:Fate
86:2011
82:2011
62:2007
55:2007
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