Most Koreans lived by subsistence level agriculture enjoying meager material goods.

FORBES: North Korea's Plight Proves the Power of Markets

Africans are emerging from a subsistence economy and have a craving for consumer goods.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Except in their own households, life was largely reduced to the terms of subsistence, and in the absence of a more widespread demand for goods and services, even the richest could no longer find or acquire luxuries that had once been commonplace.

FORBES: Magazine Article