Reporter Discovers Hidden Burger Joint in Pyongyang, North Korea

Posted by Adam Kuban, October 12, 2009 at 9:50 AM

File this under: "Things We Take for Granted in the Free World But Come as a Shock for North Korea." Kristine Kwok, a reporter for Hong Kong's South China Morning Post discovered a fast food burger joint hidden away on the second floor of a Pyongyang building:

...The only hint was a small backlit photo of hamburgers and French fries in a box at the first-floor entrance. And while the interior was much like that of any fast food restaurant anywhere in the world, only North Korean names were used on the menu because North Koreans believe anything Western to be corrupt. All the female staff wore badges with the image of former North Korean leader Kim Il-sung....

The fast food restaurant also caught the attention of the Agence France-Presse. "The Samtaesong restaurant opened in the capital Pyongyang last month in cooperation with a Singaporean firm," the agency reported. The most expensive item on the menu is "crispy chicken," which costs 3 euros, while a hamburger costs between 1.2 to 1.7 euros. That is high given the fact that North Korea's per-capita GDP was US$1,000 last year, but AFP said Samtaeseong sells 300 burgers each day.

For an idea of just how surreal Pyongyang is, I'd love to recommend to you cartoonist Guy Delisle's account of the place. Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea recounts the two months he spent there in 2001, supervising the production of a children's cartoon show. [Hat tip to Graham Holliday]

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Tags: Asia, burger weirdness, fast food burgers, North Korea, Pyongyang