Due to the state run nature of North Korea and well the private enterprise element of street dining, the Street Food Pyongyang scene was previously almost non-existent. This though has slowly started to change as the nation has slowly loosened the constraints on state ownership of everything.
Combine this with the newfound riches of the capital, as well as a growing middle-class and you get more expendable income. Now while this has led to a bunch of flashy districts, bars and restaurants, it also means a new North Korean street food scene. As expected though this is unlike other parts of Asia and is done in a very unique way.
Table of Contents
A brief history of North Korean street food
North Korea during the Cold War followed a strict Marxist system that was heavily opposed to private enterprise, meaning street food and independent selling were discouraged or outright banned. Food distribution was tightly controlled through the state system, leaving almost no space for informal trade – or dare I say culinary innovation.
This began to change in the 1990’s during the Arduous March famine period, when economic collapse forced widespread survival trading. As the state distribution system broke down, informal private markets began to appear, marking the real beginning of a street food culture.
In the last 15 years, and especially the last 5, this has expanded further. While businesses are still nominally under state control, limited private and semi-private enterprise has become widely tolerated in practice. As a result, although you do not typically see open street vendors like in places such as Rason, you now find food stalls, takeaway outlets, and kiosks increasingly common across the cities, with Pyongyang being ground zero for this,
Street Food Kiosks in Pyongyang
While always existing, the prevalence of kiosks selling all manner of things has exploded as new properties have been built in the capital, particularly in places like Hwasong. For the most part these are outside apartment buildings, as well as other shops, and are now basically everywhere.
The vast majority of these kiosks sell drinks and light North Korean snacks like fried eggs, newspapers and well generally kiosk type stuff. There is though a real change with operators being able to sell what they want. This now includes cool little bakeries, as well as decently good quality coffee. Snack wise it all differs a bit, but firm staples include Korean style corn dogs, Korean style sushi, rice stuffed squid and local bread.
While these stores are nominally state run, the fact that they are well stocked and priced at black market rates is due to the private almost franchise like nature of them. This is not 90’s Cuba!
Street Food Private Markets
When it comes to getting street food in Pyongyang, or in the rest of the country, it is all about the semi-official private markets, which are hard to access as a foreigner. Here you get food largely cooked by ladies that is done privately and for profit. Again this tends to fit the full range of North Korean dishes, usually at a fraction of the price you would pay elsewhere.
Sadly and while I have visited markets in Pyongyang and Rason, you have more chances of seeing a picture of Tatiana Zapadino nude than one of a North Korean private market.
Fast Food Pyongyang and event food
Sadly when it comes to fast food in Pyongyang you will read the usual western media crap that Kim Jong-Il claimed he invented the hamburger and the like. This is not true, but what he did do was encourage the growth of western food in DPR Korea. The most famous instance of this was the pizza restaurants, as well as the Singaporean burger restaurant at the Youth Hotel.
It though does not stop there, with North Korean burgers now available at the amusement park by Moran Hill and there being great hot dogs (and draft beer) at Kwangbok Department Store. In fact department stores tend to usually have semi-private restaurants doing the Pyongyang street food scene proud.
Vendors also come to cater at big events, such as the recent Pyongyang Spring Trade Fair. Here I was lucky enough to do some great Korean BBQ, as well as some draft Taedonggang Beer. These places also to a degree have what we would call food courts, generally serving simple restaurant food rather than street food dining.
7 Must Try North Korean Street Food Dishes
OK, so while far form exhaustive this is our top 7 Street Food Pyongyang dishes that we suggest trying when you swing by the capital.
7. North Korean Hotteok
Hotteok exists in both Koreas, but the northern version is less sugary and more rustic than the South Korean stuff tourists eat in Seoul. It is usually fried dough stuffed with brown sugar, seeds and sometimes red bean paste.
You often find these outside schools, parks and metro stations in winter. Fresh off the oil they are excellent.
6. Odeng and Fish Cake Skewers
Very similar to what you get in South Korea and Japan. Fish paste skewers sitting in a hot broth. Common in colder months and around busy pedestrian areas.
In North Korea it tends to be simpler with less seasoning, but after a few beers of Taedonggang Beer it hits the spot nicely.
5. Korean Style Corn Dogs
One of the more modern additions to the Pyongyang street food scene. These are often found at kiosks and takeaway counters rather than traditional stalls.
Crispy battered sausages with a slightly sweet coating, sometimes with sugar on top or filled with cheese.
4. Rice Wrapped Squid
A classic North Korean snack where squid is stuffed with rice and sometimes vegetables, then lightly seasoned. It is filling, cheap and very commonly found in kiosks around residential areas, as well as by department stores.
3. Korean Style Burgers
Not quite Western fast food, but a local adaptation found in amusement parks, department stores and newer food outlets.
Simple buns, thin patties and local sauces, usually very cheap and widely available.
2. North Korean BBQ
When it comes to the genre of Korean BBQ, frankly the North do it better than the south. The best way to do this is in a dingy Korean BBQ joint with buckets of soju. You will though also find kiosk knocking out skewers, as well as this being a staple at events.
1. Injo Gogi Bap
Probably the most famous North Korean “street food” and one that actually came out of hardship during the Arduous March famine years. Instead of bread, rice is wrapped in pressed soybean skin with a bit of kimchi, sauce and sometimes rice or vegetables inside.
It literally means “man made meat rice” because the soybean skin was supposed to imitate meat texture. Sounds grim, but done fresh it is actually really good. Cheap, filling and very North Korean.
This classic wee dish is pretty much everywhere.
Conclusions
Pyongyang is no Seoul when it comes to street food, with most advances tending to be on the higher end. Yet as the economics, politics and social stature of the city has changed, a street food scene has slowly built.
Now while you are unlikely to get much of this if you visit as a tourist, it is still well worth searching out the Pyongyang street food scene as it matures and truly gets better.