Life in USSR has never been as tough as it is in NK. Maybe in the 30s, 40s and early 50s. Maybe... My grandmother who was born in 1924 in the Soviet Union used to tell me that the Soviets would laugh at the brainwashing that was happening in NK even back in the time when she was a young woman. But I do agree with you. As someone who grew up and lived in USSR for a good portion of my life I often think about the simplistic life of those times. People didn't have everything under the sun as most in Western societies, but it was enough and it was cherished.
Countryside Romania still has a bit of that simplistic charm. I've been further east along the China/NK border, speak Chinese, and the Chinese I met there generally said NK now is like China in the 50s. That was 10 years ago, though.
