north korean restaurants - like the country, suspicious and in crisis - charcoal barbecue korean restaurant cavite

JAKARTA/BEIJING (Reuters)-
In a state in North Korea
Earlier this week, a restaurant in Jakarta, Indonesia, canceled the usual singing and dancing dinner performances of waitresses because there were fewer than 10 customers.
Some North Korean restaurants in Asia have closed and demand for other restaurants has been sluggish --
Like this country, these institutions seem to be going through a crisis.
The staff expressed doubts about too many problems.
There are about 130 North Korean restaurants overseas, operated by staff from North Korea, most of which are remitted back to Pyongyang.
Many people are in China, while others are in Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Middle East.
One, located in Ningbo, China, appeared in the news after the North Korean Red Cross identified the restaurant as a restaurant where 13 staff members traveled to South Korea last week.
South Korea did not disclose where the 13 people were before entering the country, despite media reports that they defected through Southeast Asian countries.
Pyongyang said it was a "terrible" kidnapping by South Korean agents.
Restaurants are one of the few hard currency sources of poverty and sanctions
According to South Korea's estimate, North Korea earns about $10 million a year.
It is reported that since the United Nations announced tough new sanctions against Pyongyang after Pyongyang's recent nuclear and missile tests, some restaurants have been suffering, although they are not targets in the United States themselves. N. resolution.
Last month, South Korea discouraged its citizens from eating at North Korean restaurants abroad.
The restaurant business in Ningbo is not good, and some residents said it was closed a few months ago due to renovations.
One of the two North Korean restaurants in Jakarta was also closed, while another restaurant in Bangkok had a sign on the door saying it was closed for renovation until April 20.
The Pyongyang restaurant, which is still open in Jakarta, is located in the crowded clapaga district in the north of the city, sandwiched between offices, banks and other restaurants.
"No photos," said a waitress in a pink and black uniform when a customer took out the camera.
Tables are separated by wooden screens so guests can't see each other, but few customers eat when the Reuters team visits.
It was a Korean concert, not a song and dance show, which was a Korean-branded lg TV.
The waitress spoke limited Indonesian and refused to answer most of the questions.
But when asked about the owner of the restaurant, one of them said, "all the North Koreans ".
She nodded when asked if it meant government.
In Beijing, the pingsu restaurant, once known as runrungrado in Pyongyang, seems to do better.
The 20 tables in the main room are half
On a weekday evening, a short song and dance performance was performed at dinner. time.
A smaller room is empty.
Two meals, including two North Korean beers, kimchi and barbecue, cost 450 yuan (about $70)
By Beijing standards, the price is expensive.
But when asked when the business was like, a waitress said, "it's not that good ".
Many waitresses from the North Korean government
Restaurants run overseas are selected from graduates of the Pyongyang Business University, where they learn to cook, sing, musical instruments and dance.
Loyalty to the regime is a major consideration for choosing to go abroad.
Once they go abroad, they will be discouraged from mixing their lives, mainly in droves, and protected by security officials.
In Jakarta, the restaurants in Pyongyang are located on three floors and customers are reluctant to go to the top floor.
About six months ago, a Chinese businessman behind a Ningbo restaurant said the staff lived in a dormitory and got food.
The staff at the Beijing hotel are all women, except for a man who brought charcoal to the table for a barbecue and a man in a leather jacket who watched the whole process in a corner of the room.