article_snippet: South Korean companies benefited from the extremely low cost of North Korean labor.  
article_snippet: Meanwhile, South Korea gained a valuable stream of hard currency revenue by appropriating an undisclosed amount of salary from South Korea citizens working in Kaesong.
article_snippet: South Korean employers also made a practice of giving small food bonuses to some hungry employees.
article_snippet: For a time, this came in the form of "Choco Pies," a packaged South Korean dessert.  
article_snippet: The snacks reportedly became highly-prized items on the black market in the communist North's rigidly controlled economy.  
article_snippet: Eventually, employers transitioned to giving workers instant noodles, as one former Kaesong factory owner told CNN in 2014, "in order to provide a more substantial snack."