Paddies Day was celebrated in over 300 cities worldwide recently and for us, that also included Pyongyang in the DPRK. Many around the world celebrated such a day by visiting Irish pubs dressing in green and chasing leprechauns.
While there are no leprechauns or Irish bars in Pyongyang (well, for now) we did indeed embark on what can officially be considered the only bar crawl that takes place in North Korea!
So what does a pub crawl in North Korea look like?
Well, firstly much more planning is involved as there isn’t one main bar street in Pyongyang, but there are plenty bars around and also most entertainment places in Pyongyang stock beer. We made our way through Pyongyang hitting up local beer bars and cafes sampling different types of Taedonggang (the main beer of North Korea) and soju.
Is Guinness an option?
Well, no but there is stout available at the Koryo hotel and there is a coffee and chocolate stout which are numbers 6 and 7 at the Mansugyo beer bar both of which are definitely worth a try.
Where do you go?
From Koryo Hotel to Rakwon, to Pyulmori tea house and onto the bowling alley, draped in an Irish flag we made our way through the pristine clean streets of the capital. After bowling, we head over to the Maeri shooting range to test our marksmanship skills with both rifles and pistols! Guns, bowling, and beers, definitely a great way to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.
In the end, we wound up at one of Pyongyang’s most famous party spots, the basement karaoke room of the Yanggakdo Hotel. With many hits of DPRK like “Pangapsumnida” and Irish hits such as the Cranberries being belted with terribly done Irish accents!
A great way to end a St Patrick’s Day bar crawl in the DPRK.
If you would like to join YPT on our 2019 St Paddy’s Day pub crawl then contact us at tours@youngpioneertours.com
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