‘Hallyu’ introduces new dining habits to NK


In footage released by Korean Central News Agency in April 2009, residents enjoy pizza and
pasta in an Italian eatery in Pyongyang. Image: Yonhap News Agency

Eating out is becoming a more common part
of people’s everyday lives in North Korea partly due to the growing influence
of illegal South Korean TV content to which they are exposed. This fad is true
not only in Pyongyang and large cities but also in more rural areas, Daily NK
has learned. 

“The culture of eating out at famous
restaurants used to only be confined to cadres and donju [new affluent middle
class]. But, that trend is now spreading to rural areas,” a source from South
Pyongan Province told Daily NK. 

She added that people used to think of eating out as something
you do away from home when you have no option [to enjoy a nice, proper,
home-cooked meal], but now it’s becoming a new culture; the experience not only includes dining in nicer restaurants but also enjoying food
outdoors and even simple street food.
 

A source in North Pyongan Province as well
as an additional source in South Pyongan Province confirmed this trend.

“Cadres and the donju eat out at fancy
restaurants or enjoy bulgogi (grilled marinated beef) al fresco, while
those with less money pack lunchboxes and eat them outdoors ,” the source
explained. “The quality of food may differ, but the desire to enjoy their meals
in a different setting is the same.”
 

The term ‘eating out’ itself was not
commonplace in the North, and it started to spread naturally after more people
started using it from what they had seen on South Korean TV dramas. The idea is
attractive enough that young people use it as an opportunity to express their
feelings for each other before going out on an official date, according to the
source.
 

“When students are pressed by authorities
about not carrying out their tax payment projects (in the form of rabbit fur),
they’ll say ‘let’s go out and eat’ and go have mock meat (made with soy beans)
with rice to blow off some steam,” she explained. ‘Eating out’ for many has
become a different form of relieving stress and enjoying some degree of
freedom.
 

Some of the popular options when going out
in Pyongyang are eating bosintang (dog soup) or naengmyeon (cold noodles) at
Okryugwan, Cheongryugwan, and Pyongyang Dog Meat Restaurant with their family
and friends. Some also pack food from home and eat it in remote places away
from central districts such as Moranbong.
 

Eating out is also popular in more rural
areas. Residents in these regions go out to dine in restaurants run by
individuals when there are birthdays within the family and head to nearby
mountains or riverbanks on national holidays. These ‘meals’ can be as simple as
a block of tofu accompanied by a bottle of soju (distilled alcohol).
 

Not only that, the sight of people eating at street stalls
at night
is no longer uncommon, according to the source. Some elderly in the
village even pool together money and buy a bag of popped corn and enjoy it
throughout the night on a picnic mat.
 

“Authorities may be tightening regulations
on ‘Hallyu’ (cultural wave from South Korea) but elements from the South such as
how people talk, dress, use specific words, and conduct their daily lives are
putting down their roots,” she said. “The idea of eating out will continue to
spread naturally due to this growing influence.”