North Korea’s cafe culture is growing, but coffee is still a luxury brew



Features North Korea’s cafe culture is growing, but coffee is still a luxury brew Coffee shops are cropping up in Pyongyang and prices are pushing new limits of what's "high-end" Min Chao Choy September 25, 2020 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Uri Tours (Flickr), CC BY-SA In North Korea, coffee is a luxury — it’s expensive, it’s meticulously prepared and it’s almost always sipped in public view. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has repeatedly appeared alongside an iced coffee in state media images, for example, and the South Korean K-drama “Crash Landing On You” built an entire love sequence around a carefully-poured North Korean brew. In North Korea, coffee is a luxury — it’s expensive, it’s meticulously prepared and it’s almost always sipped in public view. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has repeatedly appeared alongside an iced coffee in state media images, for example, and the South Korean K-drama “Crash Landing On You” built an entire love sequence around a carefully-poured North Korean brew. Become a member for less than $5.75 per week. Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts. Subscribe now All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time. © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by And how should we address you in correspondence? One more step! Please check your inbox, for an email we just sent you, and click on the confirmation message in it to get subscribed to our Daily News Update. Trending

Features

North Korea’s cafe culture is growing, but coffee is still a luxury brew

Coffee shops are cropping up in Pyongyang and prices are pushing new limits of what's "high-end"

Min Chao Choy September 25, 2020

North Korea’s cafe culture is growing, but coffee is still a luxury brew

In North Korea, coffee is a luxury — it’s expensive, it’s meticulously prepared and it’s almost always sipped in public view.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has repeatedly appeared alongside an iced coffee in state media images, for example, and the South Korean K-drama “Crash Landing On You” built an entire love sequence around a carefully-poured North Korean brew.

Become a member for less
than $5.75 per week.

Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis
The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop
Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns
Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting

Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts.

Subscribe now

All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time.

North Korea’s cafe culture is growing, but coffee is still a luxury brew

Become a member for less than $5.75 per week.

Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most –

as selected by

One more step!

Trending

Recent Stories

About the Author

Min Chao Choy

Become a member for less
than $5.75 per week.

Start your day with
the North Korea stories that matter most –