The Substitute State: North Korea's Desperate Imitations North Korea's researchers have developed a "bean based" chocolate, substituting purple beans for cocoa powder, as reported by Choson Sinbo, a pro Pyongyang newspaper in Japan.
This innovation follows other examples of the country creating substitutes for foreign goods, including corn coffee and soybean meat.
At first glance, these substitutions seem like desperate attempts to replicate the outside world within North Korea's isolated economy.