A Short Trip to North Korea
By Alex & Rachel
Normally, a trip to the "People's Democratic Republic" of North Korea would be extremely ill-advised. Luckily (?) for us, scattered around southeast Asia, is a chain of North Korean restaurants that enable you to experience the surrealist culture and food of the isolated nation without the risk of imprisonment or hard labor .
The interior of Pyongyang is neither sparse nor plush. It is mostly free of outright propaganda, instead featuring large oil paintings of natural landscapes (an odd, recurring theme of the night). The tables are set in rows like you might see at the reception of semi-formal bar mitzvah, complete with hard-backed chairs and nicely folded napkins which are swept to the side before you even have the chance to put it in your lap. The staff consists of talented, and presumably brainwashed, young North Korean women garbed in brightly colored traditional outfits.
The menu was expansive, but when we tried to order certain dishes, the waitress tried to upsell us into buying a doubly expensive entree. We declined the offer, choosing broiled oxtail and kimichi fried rice. To our left, at a large round table, sat only a few gentlemen, who Alex surmised were probably government agents keeping close watch over the ladies. Later internet research confirmed this likelihood and revealed that a number of restaurant locations had closed after attempted defections.
Taking photos and videos is not allowed, but proved irresitable
The ladies do more than just serve dinner. The restaurant itself is billed as a "cultural exchange" and features an hour long showcase of North Korean entertainment replete with dancing, singing, and instrumentation; essentially a communist talent show.The show ranges from the impressive to the flat out bizarre (like singing a full song from the Hunchback of Notre Dame - yes, the Disney movie, playing in the background). There are well choreographed dance numbers, individual performances with violins and a traditional Korean instrument resembling a harp, and the show comes to quite a finish with a rock number featuring a killer drum solo at the end. Despite the circumstances you know these ladies are performing under, you sometimes can't help but be impressed.
Throughout the performance, the women never stopped smiling. Their fixed smiles and chipmunk cheeks gave the impression that they'd been smiling nonstop their entire lives.
Dance like the Supreme Leader is watching
The end of the night was arguably the most interesting. After the show, the ladies took some time to mingle briefly with interested customers, mostly foreigners, as the remaining Korean and Cambodian guests did not show the same interest. They took pictures with us and talked on a very basic level -- some of them know a little English but some knew none at all.
Curiosity is Universal
Despite the indoctrination, we got the feeling that these women were genuinely interested in learning about the completely foreign people at their restaurant. With the language barrier, meaningful interaction proved difficult, however, one of the people in our group brought along his ukulele and we were taking turn strumming on it. The performers, who were all rather good musicians, took an intense interest in this little tiny instrument in front of them. They took turns nervously strumming on it and, it seemed they had never seen anything like it. "It's Hawaiian," explained Han, the instrument's owner. "Do you know Hawaii?" Blank stares and a short few shakes of the head indicated that they did not.
One of the girls asked me (Alex) to pay a song on it. Nervously, I played the only song I know all of the chords to on a uke: Let It Be. To my surprise, nay, my shock, she joined in on the chorus to harmonize perfectly with my raspy, off-key rendition. As our voices rang out, the colossal ideological, economic, and cultural divide between us dissolved, and for the minutest of moments, we were just two citizens of the world who both enjoyed music.
Once we finished, and I got over my amazement that she knew the song "Let It Be" but not The Beatles themselves, we both smiled at one another. "Are you single?" she asked, and was disappointed when I told her "No."
Bad Karma
We should disclose that, much like in the country itself, no aspect of North Korean culture can exist without the government. Pyongyang is no exception. Although run by a middleman, a portion of profits of the restaurant are paid annually to the government of North Korea. In light of this fact, we did have some moral misgivings about contributing any money that would eventually be used to terrorize and oppress the North Korean people. We made the decision that the experience would be worthwhile and donating the cost of our meal to Amnesty Intentional would help offset our guilt. If you want to donate to ending oppression (instead of sponsoring it, like we did this week) you can give here.
