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Text: Exotic Humanities
Edited by Exotic Humanities
Preface
When it comes to North Korea, this is a slightly mysterious country, there are very few friends who have traveled to North Korea, and the introduction of North Korea on the Internet is also relatively one-sided, the so-called "poor and backward" is just over-publicized on the Internet, Chinese tourists will be warmly welcomed during their travel to North Korea, but to participate in this highly customized tour group, so that tourists do not have relative freedom, food and accommodation conditions, The scenic spots and routes are arranged in advance, so foreign tourists do not have too many opportunities to contact the customs of North Korea, and for North Korea, they do not see it comprehensively enough, so they can not jump to conclusions, but friends who have been to North Korea say: It is worth the trip!
For friends who can't travel to North Korea, there is also an opportunity to get close to and feel the customs of North Korea in the country, there is Yuliu Hall in the east, Datong River in the west, this is located in Beijing two North Korean state-run restaurants with Korean cultural characteristics, Yuliu Hall is the restaurant closest to the North Korean style in terms of decoration and trial scene, the service staff in the restaurant, from top to bottom are authentic North Koreans, even the operator who calls the reservation position is Korean, in the process of dining, the North Korean waitress will speak Mandarin when communicating with the guests, the rest are communicated in the Korean language, there is no singing and dancing performance for consumption here on weekends, and dine in this kind of restaurant, full of experience, it is not a bold and careful person who dares to come!
Come to the North Korean Yuliu Pavilion in Beijing to consume, the per capita consumption is 200-300 yuan, recommended tasting: Yuliu Pavilion Shenxian Furnace (298 yuan a piece), salt-baked deep-sea tiger shrimp (48 yuan a piece), stone pot bibimbap (38 yuan a piece), acorn skin jelly (48 yuan a piece), frozen potato dumplings (55 yuan a piece), conch soup (88 yuan a person), seafood onion cake (68 yuan a piece), cold noodles 200 grams (45 yuan a bowl of sweet or salty taste), kimchi platter (15 yuan a piece), raw beef (79 yuan a piece).
Assortment of Korean kimchi
Beef salad with shredded pears and lemon juice
In addition, there are mixed sea cucumbers, barbecue, spicy cabbage beef soup, ginseng chicken soup, cake, kimchi cake, abalone, grilled tofu, No. 2 Datong River beer, etc. are worth tasting, but the price is very expensive, these are the specialties of the restaurant, the gifts are peas, kimchi, radish strips, salted fish, meat skin jelly, etc., friends who have been to North Korea to travel and study abroad will know, the same North Korean restaurant, the same dish, the taste is completely different, Pyongyang's Yuliu Pavilion and Beijing's Yuliu Pavilion, on the taste of food, there is a more obvious difference!
Consumption in Yuliu Pavilion, obviously not a tourist attraction, but there is a feeling of eating in a tourist attraction, not only to accept the high price here, but also to accept the indifferent attitude of the service staff, it is not worth it to spend money and eat here, but it is a good opportunity to experience exotic customs, remember: come to this kind of restaurant consumption, if you take a random photo with your mobile phone, you will be looked at strangely, for North Korean female waitresses, they do not like to be photographed by strangers!
In Beijing, in addition to this Yuliuguan restaurant, there is also a restaurant called "Datongjiang Korean Cuisine" The North Korean restaurant, the sense of experience is also good, the location is in the North Tucheng East Road Yuan Dadu Ruins Park No. 6 01 (Huixin West Street South Exit Metro Station C Exit 300 meters east of the south of the road), this is also a very authentic North Korean style restaurant, the environment is very well decorated, with distinctive Korean culture, the quality of the dishes is good, the taste is decent, the waiters here are also young and beautiful women, they speak authentic Korean and a Mandarin that is not fluent, the appearance is too high, it leaves a deep impression, the fly in the ointment of this restaurant is that the location is relatively hidden, the restaurant is located underground, it is easy to miss when walking at nightFortunately, there is a welcome beauty at the door to lead the way!
In the process of dining in the Yuliu Pavilion and Datong River Korean Restaurant, you can enjoy the song and dance performance of the North Korean beautiful waitress for free for the same money, the atmosphere is full, the performance time is not fixed, generally on weekends from half past twelve at noon to half past seven at night, during which there will be a break of ten minutes of performances, the program has North Korean song and dance performances, playing the violin, playing the saxophone, Chorus, etc., from the waiters who serve the food to the actors who perform on stage are all North Koreans, they will dress up to attend, can sing and dance, very exotic, in terms of identity, their family status in North Korea is either rich or expensive, ordinary people do not have the opportunity to work abroad, let alone have the opportunity to perform on stage!
What is the level of state banquets in North Korea?
When it comes to the state banquet of North Korea, it is generally a high-level banquet held on the leader's birthday, National Day, foreign guests' visits, and awards to talents with outstanding contributions.
The scale and grade of the North Korean state banquet, the quality of the dishes are excellent, the dishes are even more dazzling, flying in the sky, swimming in the water, running on the ground, and drilling in the soil can almost be tasted, not only the ingredients are scarce, but also the shape is peculiar, the taste is surprisingly good, the sauce on the state banquet is more than 30 kinds, there are hoisin sauce, sauce, Chili sauce, etc., people who can participate in the state banquet, are not people with a certain identity and influence, in addition to the excellent dishes, the drinks are also worth mentioning, the mineral water is mostly Xinde brand mineral water, the packaging of glass bottles is very unique, the wine is mainly beer and shochu, the beer is Datong River beer, different from ordinary beer, this special beer has no number marking, there are many types of shochu, mainly including: Pyongyang brand, Songhe brand, Korean ginseng wine, imported red wine and so on!
The most important thing is that the waiters at the state banquet are not carefully selected North Korean outstanding girls, whether it is figure, height, appearance, temperament, everything is good, they are a beautiful scenery in the state banquet restaurant, eating delicious food, beautiful women watching, it is really a rare experience!
The North Korean girls who come to China to work are not ordinary
There are many North Korean restaurants in some border cities in China, as well as in Beijing, Taiyuan, Shenyang and other cities. Logistics and other work are taken care of by authentic North Korean girls, don't look at these jobs are very ordinary, but they are very popular in North Korea, parents are also very supportive of their children to work in China, because they can represent the image of the country to work abroad, all of them are selected, all of them are excellent, not only good in shape, but also in terms Xi of academic performance, quality and ability, and conversation knowledge are also outstanding, these North Korean female waiters, on behalf of the young generation of North Korean high-quality talents!
For North Koreans, rural and urban areas implement a strict household registration management system, with more stringent restrictions on regional population movement, not to mention going abroad, even if you enter the city, you need to issue a letter of introduction from the village, otherwise the checkpoints set up along the way will make it difficult for people to move an inch, throughout their lives, most of the North Korean farmers' activities are limited to a few surrounding villages and towns, and they cannot move around casually without special circumstances, so in the hearts of North Koreans, they can go abroad to work, studying abroad, traveling, are all very amazing things!
For North Korean girls, going abroad to work can not only increase their knowledge and "gild" their status, but also have a better labor income than in China, at least more than the workers in Pyongyang's state-run factories, but they have to endure three years of homesickness, three years can not return to China, three years of maturity, return to North Korea with a lot of savings, and become a real "rich man" , These unmarried North Korean girls will be very popular in the marriage market, there is nothing more attractive than going abroad to work, at least, have seen the outside world, and this alone is the envy of many people!
Friends who have traveled to North Korea or friends who have been to North Korean restaurants will know that the waiters in the restaurant, singers and dancers, are all young and beautiful girls, which verifies the phrase "South Men and North Women", these North Korean girls are young and beautiful, gentle and lovely, quiet and pleasant, light and elegant, bright eyes and bright teeth, the standard "goose egg face" makes people shine, after coming to China, they learned to speak Mandarin Xi, such as: Hello, welcome, thank you, Goodbye wait, the longer you stay, the more you will talk, there are many North Korean restaurants opened by Chinese on the border, they like to hire such North Korean girls to work, there are North Korean girls in the restaurant, generally business is very good!
But you must know that not all North Korean girls have the opportunity to come to China to work, there are three main contents of the inspection, divided into: family pass, quality pass, freedom pass, in short, these girls need to be rooted in the seedling, loyal to the country, even the family background must be investigated, and, after going abroad, to accept the restrictions of free activities, the team leader leads the commuting, outgoing activities, individuals can not go out privately, the most important point is the quality and ability of girls, Many of those who can be selected to go abroad are high-quality talents with university degrees, who generally know Chinese and English, play and sing, sing and dance, and have talents, and then receive systematic training, and there are strict standards for appearance, dress, makeup, and conversation, and the purpose of this is to maintain the image of the country!
These North Korean girls who come to China to work can generally only stay for three years, and the income earned from the work will not be spent indiscriminately, they are all saved up and brought back to China, they rarely go shopping, rarely buy cosmetics, and rarely consume, but North Korean girls like to eat Chinese instant noodles very much, not only cheap but also full, hard and simple appearance, it looks distressing, as long as they return to China at the end of the period, they are all "little rich women", the first department store in Pyongyang, Guangfu shopping malls can also go shopping, these unmarried girls will save a rich dowry for themselves, their parents also have a light on their faces, the experience of going abroad to work, is something that most people have never had, expanding their horizons, earning income, and changing their fate, so it seems that going out can have a better future!
What is the food culture of the North Koreans?
Friends who have traveled to North Korea will know that North Korea is a country with relatively scarce materials, just a few days of North Korean tourism, Chinese tourists eat well, live well, play well, there are meat and vegetarian dishes, although the amount is not much, but there are many types, the meal is not the same, you can taste it: hot pot, barbecue, roast duck, mentai fish, cold noodles, miso soup, Copper bowl rice and a variety of low-oil stir-fried dishes, these dishes are more suitable for the taste of Chinese, 6-8 people per table, and No. 2 Datongjiang beer will also be provided, but there are also self-paid items, such as tasting ginseng chicken soup in Kaesong for 260 yuan, beer over the quota for 10-15 yuan a bottle, and so on.
For North Koreans, such a group meal configuration is very rich, many North Koreans can't even eat four plates and eight bowls for the New Year, you know, North Korea has no breakfast shop, no takeout, no snack street, breakfast is generally at home to drink porridge and eat kimchi, just with fried eggs, Green vegetables to eat, the conditions of a better family can eat some meat and ham, the conditions of the average family can only be based on a full stomach, the tour guide led the Chinese tourists to a house located in Pyongyang Future Scientist Street to visit, it can be seen that the house area is very large (North Korean houses do not have a shared area), the hostess cleaned up very clean, opened the refrigerator to introduce the results to the tourists, did not expect, it turned out to be a neatly placed jar jar, which is filled with various flavors of kimchi, in North Korea, if a family has a good life, then the number of kimchi jars will certainly not be less, if a wife is very virtuous, then the taste of kimchi must be very delicious。
Most of the lunch of Pyongyang citizens is in the canteen of the state-run factory, with rice, cabbage, and potatoes in the majority, and meat is rare, and the lunch in the countryside is generally made by women at home and sent to the fields for those who are working, or the village collective comes forward to buy some dry food as a temporary lunch, otherwise it is to go home to eat, and for dinner, the wife will return home in advance to buy ingredients in the supply and marketing stores around the community, generally barbecue, miso soup, kimchi, potatoes, Hot pot, but not all meals are so rich, people with slightly better conditions will meet friends to come to the park or the river for a picnic on the weekend, barbecue over an open fire, a mouthful of meat, a mouthful of wine is a very good experience, a stone slab can be used as a barbecue grill, and there is a firewood burning underneath, which is original.
Friends who have been to North Korea will find a phenomenon, it is difficult to see fat people in North Korea, especially when passing by the train through the countryside near Sinuiju in North Korea, the farmers they see always look tired, yellow and thin, and thin in shape.
But in fact, for North Korea, which is short of materials, the living conditions in Pyongyang are not representative of the whole of North Korea, it is more difficult for North Korean farmers to realize the freedom to eat meat, the per capita monthly distribution of pork in rural areas is less than 1 catty, there is no way, North Korea's pig breeding technology is not mature, and when supply exceeds demand, it can only give priority to ensuring the needs of some people, and the more remote rural areas, the less materials are distributed!
In order to eat enough meat and supplement enough nutrients, North Korean farmers also think of many alternatives, such as chicken, duck meat, and dog meat, North Koreans like to eat dog meat very much, and there are many families with dogs in rural areas, and there will be a saying in North Korean countryside that "dog meat rolls, and the body and mind are unstable", or North Koreans will also come to the river to fish in the summer, the difference is that North Koreans fish to drink fish soup, but North Koreans do not have professional fishing tackle, so fishing is entertainment at best!
In North Korea, there is still the Xi of "relying on the mountains to eat the mountains, relying on the sea to eat the sea", North Koreans learned to use ginseng to boil soup, specially invented ginseng chicken soup, ginseng soup, rabbit ginseng soup, North Koreans also tried to add white fruit, pine nuts, ginkgo to the soup, it can really be described as "one side of the water and soil to raise one side of the people" For North Koreans, no matter what soup they have, the miso sauce is an indispensable ingredient, and those who have been to a North Korean restaurant have tasted the taste of miso soup, which is not much of the ingredients, mainly tofu sprouts, North Koreans like miso soup, and even put miso soup on the stage of the state banquet!
Speaking of North Korean specialty food - cold noodles, there is a restaurant in Pyongyang that specializes in tasting cold noodles called Yuliu Pavilion, the previous article has mentioned the North Korean Okyu Pavilion located in Beijing, Pyongyang Okyu Pavilion is a state-run restaurant, with a history of more than 60 years, Okyu Pavilion is located on the bank of the Datong River, white walls and green tiles, elegant decoration, up to the dignitaries, down to the common people like to come here to consume, in addition to cold noodles, there are all kinds of stir-fried dishes to taste, North Korean cold noodles mainly include soba noodles, white noodles, Sorghum rice, stewed in broth, costs $2-4 for a bowl, and is served with beef slices, apple slices, cucumbers, chicken, eggs, etc., and the cold noodles in Yuryu Pavilion are mainly divided into: Pyongyang cold noodles, copper plate cold noodles, chicken copper plate cold noodles!
For North Korean people, a bowl of cold noodles is equivalent to a gourmet meal, in weddings, funerals and other occasions will appear as the finale dish, usually it is difficult to eat, for North Korean farmers, cold noodles are a rarity, but for Pyongyang citizens, it will be much more convenient to eat cold noodles, some units will also issue cold noodles tickets, with cold noodles tickets to Yuliu Hall to taste a bowl for free, cold noodles are not charged!
Write at the end
Although North Korean tourism has not yet restarted, but the Internet for North Korean tourism is getting more and more hot, more and more people want to take advantage of their lifetime to come to North Korea to find out, the elderly want to North Korea to remember the past, young people want to North Korea to explore the unknown and mysterious, at this stage there are too many "strategies" about North Korea travel on the Internet, true and false are difficult to distinguish, each has its own bias, for North Korea, only have the right to speak!
I have signed up for a North Korean tour group, covering Pyongyang, Panmunjom, Kaesong, Mount Kumgang, Myoxiangsan, Nampo and other places, encountering many North Korean customs and customs, but also tasting all kinds of North Korean food, visiting the scenic spots and buildings with Korean cultural and political characteristics, and knowing more about North Korea, I hope everyone will have the opportunity to come to North Korea to experience the exotic customs!
What do you think about such a North Korea?
#Let's have some dry goods#
Thank you for reading, and welcome to North Korea when travel resumes!