The odd reality behind Shanghai's Pyongyang restaurants

Fri, 11/04/2011 - 04:57 — Anonymous For most North Koreans, foreign travel
isn't just avoided, it is prohibited -- mainly out of the fear that any
contact with the outside world would provide the possibility of unraveling a
lifetime of systematic inculcation. But how are the staff at Shanghai's
Pyongyang restaurants -- a chain of restaurants found across Asia that
employs North Koreans abroad -- kept in check? The odd experience served up
to Chinese and foreign customers may give some clues. Quick facts Pyongyang
restaurants are part of a chain run by the North Korean government. They
serve mostly familiar Korean dishes (excluding North Korean cold noodles, or
naengmyeon) accompanied by warbling songs and dance performances. var
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