In a fashionable district of Seoul, experience a taste of the oppressive North Korean regime

In a trendy part of Seoul, locals are getting a rare glimpse into one of the world’s most authoritarian governments.

The walls are adorned with images of beaming North Korean women, propaganda-style banners hang above, and the beers seem to have been brewed by a state-controlled factory.

Step into Pyongyang Pub, a bar in Seoul that channels the essence of North Korea through its unique theme.

A taste of the forbidden

With its tightly controlled tour groups and repressive regime, North Korea isn’t the easiest destination for travelers. Since North and South Korea are still technically at war, for many South Koreans, Pyongyang Pub offers the closest experience to stepping foot in the North.

At Pyongyang Pub, you can sample the same food North Koreans eat, try on traditional hanbok dresses worn in the North, and browse household goods imported from North Korea, such as toothpaste, cosmetics, and cigarettes.

While there are other spots in Seoul offering North Korean dishes, this is the first known venue in the city to transform itself into a little corner of the secretive Hermit Kingdom.

The pub’s mint green exterior and interior are inspired by the pastel-colored buildings found throughout North Korea, a design choice made by the owner Kim, who requested anonymity due to concerns about online backlash.

The other side of the border

Despite being nestled among trendy boutiques and lively restaurants in Hongdae, there are subtle hints that Pyongyang Pub isn't exactly like the bars across the border. Hongdae, a university hub near Seoul’s Han River, also houses the headquarters of YG Entertainment, one of K-pop's largest labels.

For one, the pub’s propaganda slogans lean more towards hedonism than patriotism – slogans like “more drinks for comrades,” “let’s innovate the bar snack industry,” and “let’s build a new drinking powerhouse!”

The beer here is German, but with a twist – the Taedonggang label is a parody of North Korea’s signature beer. If you look closely, you'll notice the characters on the bottle are slightly altered, replacing ‘dong’ with ‘ddong,’ which humorously means ‘poop.’

About two years ago, Kim decided to introduce authentic North Korean cuisine to South Korea. From the very beginning, he wanted the experience to feel like stepping into North Korea, a place that holds a certain mystique in the South.

Kim meticulously studied images from social media, including those from diplomats in North Korea, and consulted with defectors from the North. The pub is decorated with genuine North Korean artifacts, smuggled out through China.

Evolving rivalries

Before Pyongyang Pub, Kim operated a Japanese restaurant at this location for seven years. However, due to the ongoing trade dispute between South Korea and Japan this year, sales dropped by 50%, prompting him to close the restaurant in July and open his long-awaited North Korean-themed bar.

The menu offers classic North Korean dishes like marinated tofu rice, sweet rice sundaes, and potato rice cakes.

Kim’s personal favorites include seasoned rice with soy meat, sweetcorn pancakes, and the Pyongyang Naengmyeon, a cold noodle dish that was famously served during last year’s inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Even before opening, Kim found himself at the heart of a fresh controversy.

On social media, some critics raised concerns that the bar might violate South Korea’s 71-year-old National Security Act, which prohibits praise for anti-government entities like North Korea.

The law itself is contentious. Widely enforced during South Korea's military dictatorship from the 1960s to the 1980s, it was originally intended to shield the country from North Korean propaganda and punish espionage. The law's harshest penalty is the death sentence.

In recent years, human rights advocates have warned that the law could be used to suppress political dissent and curb free speech.

Police from Mapo-gu, the district where the bar is located, stated that they had determined the pub wasn’t violating the law, though the decision was not final, and they were still monitoring the situation.

"For it to be considered a violation, there must be an intentional act of praising North Korea’s regime or its leader," a police spokesperson told Dinogo. "However, in this case, it was primarily for marketing purposes."

Nonetheless, Kim took precautions to ensure his bar stayed within legal boundaries. He removed the portraits of the two former North Korean leaders, which are typically found in every North Korean restaurant, and replaced them with images of U.S. President Donald Trump and comedian Kim Gyeong-jin (unrelated), both pulling funny faces.

"It’s all meant to be humorous. There’s no deeper significance," Kim explained. "I didn’t want the bar to have a serious vibe."

In the end, Kim said, the bar wasn’t created to praise North Korea’s leaders.

"I just wanted to create a place where people could relax and have fun," he explained.

The buzz around town

Despite its controversial theme and local media attention, Pyongyang Pub has already drawn a mix of intrigued locals and a handful of international visitors.

"It’s been getting a lot of attention lately, so I thought I should check it out at least once," said 27-year-old Byeon Yoon-suk, who works for a beverage company and visited the bar with his coworkers. "I think the interior is the most interesting part… it’s something new and different."

Many patrons seemed unfazed by concerns that the bar might run into legal trouble.

"[The bar] doesn’t glorify North Korea," said Kim Jin-ah, a 45-year-old home shopping TV host. "I think of it as a parody, something lighthearted and fun."

While the pub is clearly a novelty, some visitors mentioned they’d be interested in coming back.

Pyongyang Pub, 6 Wausan-ro 19-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea, +82 2-332-3066