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Until 2020 the you could book a stay in a backpacker hostel in Berlin that was actually located inside the North Korean embassy. Eventually the German government got fed up with them running a business out of their embassy and they had to shut it down.
There's a few NK restaurants in Beijing as well. Very mid food in the 90s. Went back in 2010s and they had a bunch of much tastier new items, can't tell if still traditional or making up new tradition to keep up with the times. Anecdotally from aquaintences, there's American style fast food in Pyongyang, and their fried chicken is very good. Have to keep up with the Korean peninsula fried chicken race.
Until 2020 the you could book a stay in a backpacker hostel in Berlin that was actually located inside the North Korean embassy. Eventually the German government got fed up with them running a business out of their embassy and they had to shut it down.
That's incredible. Looks like they leased a building to the hostelers and it was shut down because it violated sanctions, but amazing that the $42,000 a month lease is worth it to dabble in for NK. Then again they were subletting parking spots and rooms previously, perhaps if the order is to milk any property or opportunity overseas it adds up.
It's all because the country lacks foreign reserves.
When I visited North Korea years ago the pre-determined hotel, shops, entertainment etc all required USD.
And of course this all predates crypto which has made this trivial.
There's a few NK restaurants in Beijing as well. Very mid food in the 90s. Went back in 2010s and they had a bunch of much tastier new items, can't tell if still traditional or making up new tradition to keep up with the times. Anecdotally from aquaintences, there's American style fast food in Pyongyang, and their fried chicken is very good. Have to keep up with the Korean peninsula fried chicken race.
Do you think Great Leader enjoys American fast food as much as Disney Land?
I have to admit, I’d be curious to visit one of these restaurants myself. However, one has to be aware of the fact that these restaurants are reportedly linked to the secretive North Korean party organization, Room 39 [1], which means that all revenue flows directly into the hands of the Kim dynasty, so in the best case you'll help financing their next BMW or much worse, the nuclear arms program—neither of these I'm…