Having dinner with North Koreans
Iceberg on April 11th, 2006 | File Under Iceberg Confidential, My Videos -
In Phnom Penh there is a restaurant owned and operated by North Koreans called Pyeongyang Naengmyeon. It’s not everyday that one has the chance to interact with North Koreans, so last December my friends and I decided to have dinner there. These were my impressions:
The waitresses’ mannerisms were incredibly feminine and delicate, more so than even South Korean women. Granted, the fact that these women were afforded the opportunity to live and work abroad suggested they were certainly from families of status. Still, one couldn’t help but sense their gracefulness.
Much like many South Koreans one meets, it took the North Koreans a bit of time to warm up to us. No doubt we weren’t the first Caucasians to have a meal at this restaurant, but there was an undeniable awkwardness when we first sat down. Of course, the fact that we were wielding video cameras might have had something to do with that.
Once they discovered we could speak Korean, we felt like we were back in Seoul. Suddenly they became fascinated with us and showered us with familiar comments and questions.
“Wow! It’s amazing that you speak Korean!”
“Where did you learn it?”
“Why did you learn Korean?”
“It’s interesting to talk with a foreigner in Korean.”
And so on. The notable difference being that they simply said “our language” (우리말) rather than refer to Korean as hanguguh (한국어) or hangugmal (한국말).
It was a challenge trying to decipher their thick North Korean accent, but we picked up some interesting tidbits from our conversation. First, we learned that, contrary to what many South Koreans have told us, the waitresses did indeed use some English in the course of speaking Korean. Words like “television” and “air con” (air conditioner). It’s quite possible that they were using these words for our convenience. But they spoke them without pause, which suggested to me that they were accustomed to using them.
Another thing we learned was that these particular women showed signs of being aware of Seoul’s economic growth. They asked us many questions about life in Seoul. What did the women wear? How big were the department stores? Were there many cars on the streets? It made me wonder what is discussed in North Korean homes.
We noticed that there was a karaoke machine in the corner of the restaurant, so after dinner we asked if we could sing some songs. The waitresses were amused by this. Apparently it wasn’t often that they received a performance from Americans. I grabbed the mic and sang a South Korean song while the waitresses smiled and clapped their hands in rhythm. Strike one up for détente.
Because we were guests and these women were, after all, only waitresses, we avoided controversial topics. But I couldn’t help asking one woman a potentially dodgy question. “Why do North Koreans hate the U.S. so much?” I knew that it was a stupid question but I just wanted to hear what she would say. As it turns out, she said nothing. She just gave me a wry smile and asked me if I wanted more water. Oh well. I guess you can’t solve all of the world’s problems over dinner.
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