North Korea Finds Foothold With Food
Opened in 2003, Pyongyang restaurant is as close as many in Cambodia will get to the secretive country, one whose relatively small amou
As a woman performed a Korean song at Pyongyangrestaurant in Phnom Penhon a recent evening, the guests toasted each other with North Korean wine and applauded. Hersong was followed by performances of at least eight other women who played theviolin, zither, or electronic keyboards. At times, the women wore headphones and hands-freemicrophones, and at others they twirled with fans. During some songs, imagesof North Korean landscapes played on a widescreen television on the wall. When eachperformance ended, the women quickly went back to waiting on tables. Opened in 2003, the restaurant is as close as many in Cambodia will get to secretive North Korea, a country whose relatively small amount of investment in the country belies a longrelationship with Cambodia,one forged by former king Norodom Sihanouk. Meanwhile, South Koreacontinues to make increased investment inroads as the Cambodian economyexpands. At the Pyongyang,the work system differs from Cambodian eateries. The women sing, dance and waittables, but they never accompany guests. Vath Chamroeun, a Cambodian who has worked with North Koreanbusinesses, said the workers are well-trained in many different tasks, parallelinggovernment policies that require its workforce to do more with less. "They are strictly controlled," he said. "Whereverthey go, they go as a team. Men are teamed with men, women are teamed withwomen. Each team has its own leader to control the members. Even team leadersare controlled by several more higher-ranking officials." The country has one restaurant in Phnom Penh and two in Siem Reap, he said, andlittle else. While South Koreahas become a ready investor in Cambodiain recent years, investment statistics for North Korean business are hard tocome by. Sou Yung, first secretary at the North Korean embassy, saidhe was unaware of any other businesses, and the Ministry of Commerce recordsshow 1,750 "Korean" companies in Cambodia, without differentiatingbetween North and South. "We do not divide North or South, but it is very rareto see a North Korean company on the register," said Sok Sokun, head ofthe Commerce Ministry's foreign business registration. Sok Chenda, secretary-general of the Cambodia DevelopmentCouncil, a government body that approves investment, said of the $14 millioninvested in Cambodiaby "Korean" companies, likely none of it is from the North. "Not only in Cambodia," he said. "North Korea is well known in the world as acountry without overseas investment, because, No. 1, North Korea is a communist countryand poor. The government cannot sustain its people, who are starving. No. 2, North Korea'sbusiness is handled by the state. It is not a free market." Without economic leverage, North Korea remains a fast friend,with one of the oldest diplomatic relationships in the country. Former kingNorodom Sihanouk met Kim Il-sung, the "Great Leader," in1961, when both men attended a Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Belgrade.The two developed a personal friendship, and when Norodom Sihanouk was oustedin a US-backed coup in 1970, King Il-sung built him a palace and offered himasylum. Cambodia has ever since been linked to North Korea, but in recent years, it is South Korea that has made inroads. "Both the people and the government of South Koreaare richer," Cheam Yiep, a Cambodian People's Party lawmaker who heads theNational Assembly's committee on finance and banking, said. "Now SouthKorean tourist visits are No. 1, leading other countries." South Koreahas invested in private sectors such as tourism and aviation, he said, openingflights from Seoul to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. "We have received a lot of benefit" from theinvestments, he said. Meanwhile, North Korean remains "very strict," hesaid. "They are afraid their people will steal secret [nuclear] technologyand escape to a third country. They are very afraid of that." North Koreans have in the past chosen Cambodia as acountry of escape, but a government spokesman said that is no longer the case. Cheam Yiep said the government's relationship with NorthKorean remains strong, despite its open doors to the South. "In general, we count both North and South Koreaequally," he said. "But the difference is that South Korea invests a lot more than North Korea. Itis as simple as that." At the Pyongyangrestaurant, politics and economics seem to mean very little. Manager Kil Ilva said the restaurant attracts people fromaround the world, Europeans, Americans, Asians and especially South Koreans,who are curious about North Korean cuisine and culture, especially the kimchiand "cool noodle" dishes. "They like it," she said.