The following article is the third in a multipart series by Taylor Darby, a pseudonym for a foreign diplomat that worked in Pyongyang for an extended period of time before being forced to leave in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Views expressed in columns are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

Many new residents of Pyongyang spend their first day in North Korea’s glitzy capital by visiting the infamous Friendship Restaurant in the diplomatic compound, perhaps even dining there for their first few meals.

But eventually, all newcomers must venture out to scavenge