A Very Serious Foodie Guide to Pyongyang, North Korea

Video Description

In this episode, we bring you a travel guide that’s as improbable as it is appetizing: a gourmet food tour of Pyongyang. If you have the right passport, the right connections, or the right amount of foreign currency, North Korea’s capital transforms into something very different: a strange, curated food court of duck barbecue, naengmyeon temples, rooftop beer gardens, sashimi suites, and slow-smoked brisket platters. We begin with what tourists are allowed to eat, and where they’re allowed to chew, from Kim Il-sung-themed cold noodles to the Samtaesong burger joint allegedly opened on Kim Jong-il’s orders. Then we shift to the underground food map used by exchange students, expats, and the better-connected donju. We sample ostrich meat, ramen from a Japanese grandma, and the ever-changing menus at the Kwangbok Department Store food court. There's even a stop at the infamous Yanggakdo Hotel Microbrewery, where the beer is brewed behind glass, next to a fish tank and a piano no one plays. We didn’t make this up. We just mapped it. Subscribe, unless you’re too busy slow-smoking ostrich meat in a secret socialist restaurant kitchen. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:39 For Tourist 09:43 Dining Etiquette 12:05 For Student 20:39 For Expat 28:35 For Elite 35:03 Final Thoughts