Are you curious about the food in North Korea? Well, this was one of the most asked questions about my experiences in North Korea. If words like bibimbap, kimchi, tteok, samgyeopsal ring any bells then you are almost there with the answer. No, there’s no such thing as communist food and the North Koreans eat Korean food. Like in most Asian food culture, the Korean cuisine is largely based on rice, vegetables, and meats. Their love for steamboats, barbecue and bibimbaps are the same as their southern brothers. They also share the exact same love for their kimchi. Almost every single meal, you’ll see this plate of kimchi staring back at you.

In North Korea, the locals have this odd eating habit. They tend to serve and eat their vegetables and meats first, then only their rice is served halfway during the meals. Unlike most of us Asians, who prefer to have our rice come first to eat with the other dishes. It took us the 3 days to only find out that we could inform the restaurants to have our rice come together with our side dishes.

Pork was not widely seen in their food palette. Most of the time, we were served fish, chicken and duck. The North Koreans enjoy their seafood especially fish. During our first trip to the DPRK, fish appeared in almost 50% of our meals. Eggs were also common during meals. Our Australian friends were so sick of egg that they gave us their portion most of the time. In Malaysia, we eat eggs everyday too.

A delicious and special delicacy from the capital of Pyongyang is the Raengmyeon or cold noodles. It is a dish with long and thin handmade noodles made from the flour and starch of various ingredients, including buckwheat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, arrowroot starch (darker color and chewier than buckwheat noodles), and kudzu. With a long history that dates back to the Joseon period, Raengmyeon is an original delicacy from Pyongyang and Hamhung. Raengmyeon is served in a large stainless-steel bowl with a tangy iced broth, julienned cucumbers, slices of Korean pear, thin, wide strips of lightly pickled radish, and slices of cold boiled chicken or beef. Spicy mustard sauce (or mustard oil) and vinegar are often added before consumption. The icy broth makes this dish a local favourite especially during summer. One of my favourite raengmyeon was from Pyongyang’s Koryo Hotel restaurant that was situated at the ground floor.

Here are a few of the foods we tried during our trip in North Korea. Check it out:

Pyongyang Raengmyeon or Cold Noodles

Raengmyeon (Cold Noodles)

Air Koryo Sandwich

Air Koryo In-flight sandwich

Air Koryo Lunch Set

Pyongyang Sunan International Airport meal

North Korean Lunch

Traditional Korean lunch with Banchan (Side dishes)

Duck Meat

Duck meat and egg

Potato Salad

Potato Salad (Koryo Hotel)

North Korean Bibimbap

Bibimbap (Korean Mixed Rice)

North Korean Dinner

Roast chicken and Kimchi

Red Bean Dumplings

Red Bean Green Dumplings

Dumplings

Floral shaped dumplings

Kimchi and Nokdumuk (Mung Bean Jelly)

Nokdumuk (Mung Bean Jelly)

North Korean Packed Lunch

Packed Lunch at Samjiyon

North Korean Steamboat

Giant group sized fish steamboat and side dishes

North Korean Beer

North Korean Beer

Fish & Anniversary Cake

Giant fried fish and our wedding anniversary cake

Fried Chicken

Korean Fried Chicken

Rice Meatball

Meatballs covered with rice

Korean Rice Cakes

North Korean Tteok (Rice Cakes)

North Korean Steamboat

Korean mini steamboat, fantastic for a cold night

North Korean BBQ

Korean self-revolving Barbecue

Korean BBQ

Korean Samgyeopsal (Barbecue)

North Korean Soft Drinks

North Korean Soft Drinks

For more photos of North Korean Food click here.

3 Comments

  • July 8, 2019 Reply

    Lauren Hyoseo Yoon

    I’m a student in South Korea, and I’m planning to make play cards regarding the North Korean foods for unification education. Would you mind if I use your photos for making play cards? I will be looking forward to seeing your reply. Thank you.

    • July 13, 2019 Reply

      admin

      Hi Lauren, unfortunately I can’t allow that. I’m sorry 🙂

  • December 25, 2019 Reply

    The World Book

    Hi. I’m really impressed by this blog. Korean cuisine is one of the healthiest cuisines in the world. Great piece of writing. Wish you luck for upcoming posts.

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