I was stationed in Buenos Aires in the 80’s. Late wife and I were walking around Calle Lavalle (big shopping district) and were accidentally following some Soviet merchant seamen. Even though Argentina was going through one of their regular economic crises, the shops, high-end boutiques, markets, restaurants, etc, were filled with shoppers and diners. The Soviet sailors were awe stricken. It must’ve been their first time outside the USSR.
Communist government told their citizens that shows like Dallas are all fiction. Their citizens are convinced everyone in the world lives like they live. If the North Koreans ever invade South Korea, the invasion will stop at the first grocery store because they will be convinced it is the only one in South Korea and they will need to loot it before someone else does.
When we hire professors from overseas, they are astonished at the number of large grocery stores in town. And rice in small bags. What’s up with that? They buy rice 50 lbs at a time.