North Korean restaurant offering lobster and live music opens in Moscow

Lobster platters, Pyongyang cold noodles and a live North Korean musical troupe greeted guests in Moscow this week as North Korea opened a new restaurant in the heart of the Russian capital.

The Russian Embassy to North Korea said on Facebook on November 27 that “the long-awaited opening of the Korean restaurant ‘Seungri,’ which translates to ‘Victory,'” opened on November 26.

Russian and North Korean government officials attended the opening, along with Russian lawmakers, North Korean scholars and journalists, the embassy said.

Leonid Slutsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, told guests he hoped “Victory will become a cultural hub that introduces not only a variety of excellent North Korean dishes but also the traditions, food and songs of our brotherly peoples.”

Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora delivered congratulatory remarks and offered a toast.

Photos released by the embassy showed traditional North Korean dishes such as Pyongyang-style buckwheat cold noodles served alongside lobster and assorted raw fish.

Bottles of whiskey, wine and cocktails were set across the tables, and North Korean women in hanbok (traditional Korean dress) or white suits performed with instruments including the janggu (traditional hourglass-shaped drum) and guitar.

North Korea has operated restaurants in Russia before. One named Koryo was believed to have opened in Moscow around 2009 to 2010.

Another restaurant, Pyongyang-gwan, or “Pyongyang Restaurant,” opened in southeastern Moscow in September and reportedly serves kimchi, ramyeon and bibimbap as well as other South Korean and North Korean dishes.

BY KIM EUN-BIN [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]