News & Insights

Tag: China

  • North Korean Restaurants Closing in China Due to Few Customers and High Costs

    North Korean Restaurants Closing in China Due to Few Customers and High Costs

    Over half of these establishments in Liaoning province have closed their doors.

    According to Daily NK, several North Korean restaurants in Dandong recently stopped operations, including Ryugyong Sikdang and Taebosan. Their staff and managers have returned to North Korea.

    Unable to cover rent costs, North Korean trading companies and entities that managed these restaurants have largely shut down operations, transferring management rights to Chinese businesspeople. Some continue as North Korean-style restaurants, now employing Chinese staff.

    These restaurants have lost Chinese customers due to their higher prices compared to ordinary eateries.

    Link to Article

  • Attempted Defections among NK Studying Abroad Leads to Increased Surveillance

    Attempted Defections among NK Studying Abroad Leads to Increased Surveillance

    “Students abroad have many opportunities to encounter foreign culture, so authorities constantly worry they might defect,” the source noted. “The Ministry of State Security considers these students ‘high-value state assets’ representing significant party investment and is determined to prevent any escapes.”

    “Under the policy changes, state security agents will conduct regular face-to-face interviews with families of students who fled abroad and report their activities,” the source explained. “They plan to strengthen systems to monitor and prevent these families from contacting the outside world.”

    The ministry will also introduce a “mutual indirect evaluation” system conducted monthly for students considered flight risks. These evaluations, submitted twice monthly by other students or embassy staff, will assess the subject’s academic performance, ideological commitment, statements, and behavior.

    The system regularly rotates subjects and evaluators while punishing false reports, creating an evaluation structure that prevents collusion among students.

    Link to Article

  • North Korean Products Showing up on Shelves in Chinese Border Cities

    North Korean Products Showing up on Shelves in Chinese Border Cities

    Products made in North Korea are now being exported to China and appearing on store shelves there. North Korean traders have been actively seeking outlets for various North Korean products.

    Currently, North Korean products can be found in stores across parts of Liaoning and Jilin provinces, areas where North Korean traders have established a significant presence.

    The North Korean items displayed on the Chinese store’s shelves included Mount Kumgang Conditioner, made by the Mount Kumgang Joint Venture; Pyongyang Fermented Soy Sauce, produced at the Taedonggang Food Factory; Corn Soda from the Rason Ryongson General Processing Factory; and 500ml bottles of black tea produced in Namsa village, Rangrang district, Pyongyang.

    Link to Article

  • Tourism Opportunities in North Korea

    Tourism Opportunities in North Korea

     

    Koryo tours as well as Young Pioneers are the two main tourism organizations offering tours to North Korea. Most trips originate from either Vladivostok, or from Beijing. The tours are generally focused on Rason and Yanji, and Pyongyang and offer visits of factories, sea cucumber farms, and banking opportunities, Hae’an Park, Pipha Island, and even boat rides to see seals. Pyongyang tours include Pyongyang Grand Theatre, Kim Il Sung Square, Mt. Myohyang , Korean War Museum, Pohyon Temple, USS Pueblo, Manpok valley, Kaeson Funfair.

    One of the more interesting tours is the annual Pyongyang marathon, to be held this year on April 11, 2025. The marathon attracts people from all over the world, to participate in a 5K, 10K, half marathon, or full marathon through North Korea’s capital, and downtown sites.

    https://www.koreakonsult.com/program_2025_Apr_11_15_eng.html

    https://koryogroup.com/tours/dprk-north-korea/group

    https://www.youngpioneertours.com/north-korea-tours/

  • North Korean defector: I had reoccurring nightmares, like everyone else

    North Korean defector: I had reoccurring nightmares, like everyone else

    How post-traumatic stress disorder follows North Koreans all the way south

    She defected from North Korea 15 years ago, crossing over into China, Vietnam, and Cambodia before finally reaching and entering South Korea. The process was “relatively” trouble-free. There was one thing she had not expected, however — the constant, reoccurring nightmares that followed her for three years.“I was never tortured or taken away in the North. I didn’t experience any traumatizing pain. However, after Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea, died, many people starved to death and died for other reasons. I did undergo the troubling times then,” said Nam Young-hwa, a North Korean defector.

    Nam’s family was an upper middle class, and she was part of the elite. She majored in chemistry and worked as the secretary for an agricultural organization – a sign of wealth and independence uncommon for North Korean women. But no amount of individual wealth could protect her from the economic and social hardship that plagued the nation.

    “After experiencing national famine and crossing over to China and into South Korea, I started having nightmares for three years. I was afraid someone would hunt me down, and it felt like someone was coming to get me. I dreamt North Korean police was raiding my house in the North,” she said.

    Nam was not the only defector suffering from such dreams that persisted.

    https://www.koreabiomed.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=3464