Stores, Malls or Markets in North Korea

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You'll get the chance to do some shopping whilst in Pyongyang and we stopped by this small department store which had selections of food items on the ground floor that included some western chocolate products. The next floor up had some electrical and furniture items that you average North Korean could never afford in a million years such as Panasonic LCD widescreen TV's for US$2450 or 343,000 Won! Other items included air conditioning units, washing machines, wardrobe cabinets, beds, hi-fi's and laptop computers.

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This shop is right beside the Koryo Hotel which is where you could be staying as it's one of the few hotels where foreigners can stay. The stamp shop displays every single stamp that has ever been issued in North Korea and many of them are available for purchase. Other items to buy here include postcards, A3 reproductions of propaganda posters you see on the streets, T-shirts and other souvenirs.

This small bookshop lies very near to Kim Il Sung Square - just a stone's throw away, in fact. As the title for this tip suggests, this bookshop is full of books in English, Spanish, French and German so it should suit most visitors. The bookshop also sells pin badges (but not the ones that every adult North Korean wears of Kim Il Sung) and flags. I bought a small DPRK one that you can see in the photo to take to a football match that we were going to see later in the tour (DPRK Vs Turkmenistan is a 2010 World Cup qualifier).

Even though North Korea is the last bastion of Communism, they know how to make money out of you. Virtually every place you visit will have a souvenir shop selling books, leaflets, postcards, pin badges and such like. To me it was a really big surprise and something I wasn't expecting to see. I'm glad they were there actually as you just can't buy this kind of stuff anywhere else (well apart from eBay, of course!). For me I bought a lot of leaflets on the places that we visited and a guidebook with some lovely photos and even maps. Most of this stuff is very old - publication dates shown from the late 1980's to the early 1990's and they have a kind of amateurish, old school, staged fashion catalogue photo kind of feel to them that I liked. One thing that you won't be able to buy are the Kim Il Sung pins that every adult in North Korea wears. I believe they actually get given them on their 17th birthday.

Welcome to world of stamps. If you are fan, you'll cry there. And probably spend a fortune. DPRK has serious production of stamps each year so you'll really have excellent choice for present or for collection.

What to buy: Stamps

What to pay: A lot :-)

All shops look the same and sell the same.

1. Books with Great Leader ideas.
2. Postcards
3. Stamps
4. Ginseng products
5. Embroidery
6. Tapes/DVD/CD
7. T-shirt's (I saw only 2 different kind)

That's all folks.

What to buy: Hm, choice is not big so you'll probably end up with propaganda posters, some Ginseng (because is really great there), send some postcards (they arrived really quick to Europe)...

What to pay: You must have EUR, USD or RMB !
NO credit cards.
No negotiation...if you think that price is hilarious and your eyes can't believe, be aware that you purchase some pretty rare things.

• international telephone calls (it is very expensive to call overseas from North Korea). It is not possible to use Internet and/or mobile phones in the country.
• laundry at the hotel. If you have some washing to do it is not cheap either.
• different leisure activities at the hotel such as bowling (not that expensive)
• swimming pool, casino, and drinks at the bar, etc.
• souvenirs (they are expensive)
• ascending to the tower of Juche idea. You can take the elevator to the top and enjoy a fantastic view on Pyongyang (cost - 5 Euro. Definitely worth it).
• Please note that Pyongyang airport departure tax (11 Euro per person) is NEVER included in the tour price, it has to be paid in cash in Pyongyang.

The basic rule is that there aren't any shops in North Korea.

Goods (the little there is) are distributed to the population through local distribution centres which might be located in the apartment block, factory or farm where people are working.

These distribution centres are off limits for foreigners as the regime doesn't want to show outsiders the state of their country.

There are however, a few shops for foreigners in the hotels, tourist spots and in downtown Pyongyang. There is not much to buy here eigher and the prices are high and set in Euro.