Into North Korea,
What can I buy in a street kiosk in Pyongyang?
Local consumption makes tourists happy.
Entering North Korea, many commissaries are opened in the vicinity of scenic spots, and their business is generally very stable. Before the outbreak of the epidemic, tourists took them to scenic spots almost every day, and tourists who were hungry and thirsty would also come to the commissary to buy some food and drink. Although the commissary is also an extension of the state-run store, the vast majority of the goods in it do not need to be purchased with a ticket, and tourists can pay directly with The Korean currency, which is very convenient.
Whenever the summer is the hottest time in North Korea, many tourists come to the scenic spot, most of them are tired and thirsty, and the commissary will provide fruit or ice drinks every day, and the chilled watermelon is sold for 3,000 to 5,000 Korean yuan in the commissary, which is equivalent to 20 or 30 yuan. Although ordinary North Koreans are reluctant to buy, for Chinese tourists, they are used to scenic prices.
Compared with a bottle of mineral water sold for 5 yuan and 10 yuan in a scenic spot in China, a large watermelon is only 20 or 30 yuan, or in the psychological price of many people. There are also commissaries located on the edge of Pyongyang's city square, where many citizens go for a walk in the summer evening. The commissary here provides ice cream, ice cream, soda and shaved ice snacks for the public, and occasionally, you can see that the commissary will sell some fresh juice, the price here is lower than the scenic spot, and the average per capita consumption is equivalent to 2 to 3 yuan.
In the winter, the commissary will change the name of the goods on the counter according to the change of climate, and more is roasted corn or baked sweet potato, generally 700 Korean dollars, about 5 yuan or so. On the streets of Pyongyang, there are now many public-private partnership commissaries, in which state-run shops are contracted to private operators, and private individuals pay a part of the money to the state every year. Since this shift, you can see commissaries open 24 hours a day on the streets of Pyongyang.
It is worth mentioning that in North Korea, in addition to the commissary, a large number of self-employed people have also been formed, they do not have a fixed stall, in many cases, it is a person, a car along the street to sell, if found to have duty personnel, will stage a Chinese-style "urban management" scene. In North Korea, these commissaries, or the goods sold along the street, are more affordable, so they can let tourists take what they need, and they spend happily.