Earn money, but never run away!

North Korea operates specialized restaurants in various countries, including China, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Beginning in the 1980s, it established restaurants in China, the Soviet Union, and Eastern European countries. The number of these establishments steadily increased, and by the 2000s, North Korean restaurants could be found in major cities worldwide.

The primary reason for North Korea's aggressive expansion into the restaurant business is the urgent need to earn foreign currency. The regime is willing to engage in any business, whether legal or illegal, as long as it can fund Kim Jong-un's ruling party. In the past, North Korea generated revenue through activities such as money counterfeiting, smuggling, and drug trafficking. However, due to increased scrutiny and sanctions from the international community, North Korea has shifted its focus to exploiting overseas labor and opening foreign restaurants for foreign currency.

In recent years, North Korea's primary methods for earning foreign currency have converged into three areas: hacking to steal cryptocurrency, exploiting overseas laborers and army soldiers, and operating restaurants abroad. These restaurants are directly managed by the North Korean Workers' Party’s Office 39, which is responsible for foreign currency earnings. The money generated from these restaurants is believed to entirely go toward Kim Jong-un’s ruling fund, financing the luxurious lifestyles of the Kim family and the development of nuclear weapons and missiles.😠 While exact statistics are hard to come by, experts suggest North Korea may earn around $100 million annually from operating overseas restaurants.

Traditionally, North Korea has run restaurants in friendly nations such as China, Russia, and Eastern Europe. However, it has gradually expanded its operations into Western countries, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Latin America. Although slightly outdated, statistics from 2016 indicated approximately 130 North Korean restaurants across 12 countries.

Despite a United Nations resolution (Resolution# 2397) adopted in December 2017 mandating the repatriation of North Korean laborers by December 2019 due to nuclear tests and missile provocations, many North Korean restaurants remain operational in countries like China and Laos. In China alone, there are around 65 North Korean restaurants, and some establishments have been known to hide or remove North Korean flags to avoid UN scrutiny.😠

However, North Korea does not use these overseas restaurants solely to earn foreign currency. They also serve as a base for the operations of spies (security agents) sent to monitor activities. According to testimonies from defectors who used to work in North Korean restaurants, these agents are stationed in restaurants and monitor both the staff and customers closely. Numerous North Korean restaurants in cities like Beijing, Wuhan, and Shenyang have been identified as hubs for the operations of these agents. The managers of these restaurants are typically affiliated with the North Korean security agency, and they train employees to gather intelligence on South Korean tourists and businessmen.

The employees in overseas North Korean restaurants are usually young women in their late teens to early twenties. Most of them are graduates or students from North Korea's artistic schools, specializing in music and dance, and they perform to entertain dining guests. (👉 Click here to see their performance) Understandably, it is perplexing that many young women actively seek to be sent to overseas restaurants despite stringent surveillance, as it allows them to experience a somewhat "open world" and earn significantly higher wages compared to what they would receive in North Korea.

Recently, there have been several incidents of restaurant employees risking their lives to escape after tasting a glimpse of freedom. Notably, the mass escape of 13 North Korean restaurant workers in Ningbo, China, in 2016 attracted significant media attention. Other escape incidents occurred in Cambodia in 2016 and 2018, as well as a series of escapes from a restaurant in Uzbekistan in 2022. Among these, the motivation for women restaurant workers in Cambodia often includes falling in love with South Korean men, leading them to risk everything to escape to South Korea. Testimonies from defectors reveal that female workers lived with four persons in one room of shared accommodations above the restaurant. Under high-pressure work conditions of up to 16 hours a day, they are allowed only one group outing per month, and all tips received from guests must be reported to the restaurant manager.😱 In this working environment, their South Korean boyfriends became a great comfort and support for them.👍

Although $150 in monthly wages is rock bottom low, defectors have indicated that this amount is astronomically higher—150 times the salary of a defector’s father in North Korea, who earns just $1 as a military officer.😱😱😱 Failure to report gratuities can lead to self-criticism sessions and being treated as a criminal, followed by ongoing harassment from the regime upon repatriation.😡

Having lived their entire lives under a system of misinformation, many North Korean workers abroad begin to feel confusion and conflict upon encountering new information from South Koreans. The most potent weapon against the North Korean regime is the defectors who have settled in South Korea. As these individuals continue to inform their remaining family members in North Korea of the truth about the world, I am confident that the North Korean regime will ultimately lead itself to collapse.🙏✔️