This is the fifth part of a series written by a former development worker in North Korea. Read part one here, part two here, part three here, and part four here.

Kim Il Sung Square is a place filled with hidden gems. It took me some time to figure them out, and I still believe I missed something important. For example, only two years after I moved to Pyongyang did I discover that the two gates at the side of the square, which look like the entrance to an underground garage, instead lead to an underground mall where one can buy local glass, paper, straw helmets, old pottery, soft drinks, and even water color paintings.