Model City or Tourist Trap: Hoiryeong Sparkles

“The redevelopment of downtown Hoiryeong, the North Hamkyung Province former home of Kim Jong Il’s mother that was designated a model city in 2009, has been completed, and the task of extracting foreign currency from unsuspecting Chinese tourists is well underway. …

“There are a number of new restaurants in the area. One, ‘Hoiryeonggwan’, has been decorated in the style of Pyongyang’s famous ‘Okryugwan’, something that Kim Jong Il is said to have ordered in December 2010 when he visited the construction site. Elsewhere, restaurants serving spicy marinated beef, duck, dog and Chinese food have also opened their doors.”

Speciality du maison: Barack-weiler