Pyongyang (restaurant chain) facts for kids
Pyongyang (which means "평양관" in Korean) is a group of restaurants. They are named after Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea. There are about 130 of these restaurants around the world. The North Korean government's Haedanghwa Group owns and runs these restaurants.
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Where to Find Pyongyang Restaurants
Most Pyongyang restaurants are located near the border between China and North Korea. You can also find them in big Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Since the early 2000s, the restaurants have opened in many cities across South and Southeast Asia. These include places like Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia, and Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in Vietnam.
Other locations include Vientiane in Laos, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Jakarta in Indonesia, and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. You can also find them in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Vladivostok and Moscow in Russia; Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; and Kathmandu in Nepal.
At first, these restaurants were popular with business travelers from South Korea. Now, many curious tourists also enjoy visiting them.
Pyongyang Restaurants in Europe
The first Pyongyang restaurant outside of Asia opened in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 2012. It was a partnership with Dutch owners. This restaurant had a different menu and rules compared to the ones in Asia. However, it closed in September 2012 after disagreements between the Korean staff and the Dutch partner. It tried to reopen in December 2013 under a new name, Haedanghwa, but closed again a year later.
Some branches in Thailand, like those in Bangkok and Pattaya, also closed for a while. The Bangkok restaurants reopened in 2015. The Ho Chi Minh City branch closed in 2017, and the Hanoi branch closed in 2020. There were talks about a new restaurant opening in Scotland, but North Korean officials said this was not true. According to a Japanese newspaper, there are about 100 North Korean restaurants in China alone.
What to Expect at Pyongyang Restaurants
These restaurants serve traditional Korean food. Popular dishes include different kinds of kimchi and Pyongyang cold noodles. You might also find barbecued cuttlefish and various traditional soups. Customers can also buy special North Korean products, like ginseng wine. The prices at these restaurants are usually a bit high and are often listed in US dollars.
Staff and Performances
The staff at Pyongyang restaurants are young Korean women. They wear beautiful traditional dresses called Chosŏn-ot. Besides serving food, they also put on live performances for the customers. These shows include karaoke, singing, and dancing routines. The style of their performances is similar to the famous North Korean Mass Games.
The staff members from North Korea usually work on contracts for about three years. They are often highly skilled graduates from arts colleges. Generally, taking photos inside the restaurants is not allowed.
How Pyongyang Restaurants Operate
These restaurants are part of how the North Korean government earns money from other countries. They are managed by local partners who send money back to the North Korean government each year. The North Korean staff live at the restaurant locations. They are carefully chosen and are often graduates of special schools.
In 2016, Chinese authorities announced that some restaurant workers from Pyongyang restaurants in China had moved to South Korea.
See also
- Okryugwan, a famous restaurant in Pyongyang founded in 1960.
