North Korean restaurant servers need many skills

28 July, 2010
Koreaherald.com

Working as a waitress in a restaurant is generally considered a career requiring few qualifications but this apparently does not apply to overseas North Korean restaurants.

The online community has recently been stirred by a video clip showing a North Korean waitress working in a state-run restaurant in Siem Reap Province, a popular tourist region in Cambodia.

The video clip pictured her not only serving in the hall but also performing in a singing and dancing show, as most North Korean waitresses do in order to attract customers.

The woman was soon nicknamed “the North Korean Kim Tae-hee” for her appearance resembling the famous South Korean actress.

Employees perform at a North Korean restaurant in Beijing.

It also turned out that the very same waitress drew public attention back in 2008 when her picture was spread on the Internet.

The celebrity waitress, however, did not just happen to be working in an overseas restaurant by coincidence.

North Korean restaurants all over the world -- whose numbers have been increasing since 2000, are widely known for their beautiful and artistically talented waitresses.

A video still of a waitress at a North Korean restaurant in Cambodia

Usually coming from prestigious families in Pyongyang, the young women are thoroughly educated to show absolute loyalty to the North Korean regime so that they do not falter even upon contacting foreigners, especially South Koreans.

As North Korean restaurants offer total entertainment courses, including meals and entertainment, the waitresses are also required to be outstanding performers.

Linguistic abilities are absolute prerequisites.

Most of the North Korean waitresses are able to speak at least three languages -- Korean, English, and the local language of the country where the restaurant is located.

The qualifications therefore require a university degree, often a major in the corresponding country or language.

The highly qualified hall staff, together with the food, is successfully attracting an increasing number of local customers, especially in China and Southeast Asian states.

“When I visit China on business purposes, my local partners often invite me to North Korean restaurants,” said Park Yeon-jung, a Korean businessman.

“This is not only because I am a Korean but more because those restaurants offer high-quality service by beautiful, intelligent women.”

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldm.com)