A two-storey beer hall opens in the capital’s upmarket Hwasong district

North Korea has launched a new beer hall in Pyongyang’s Hwasong district, managed by the state-owned Taedonggang beer brewery. Hwasong is one of three new suburbs built over the past two years as part of a large-scale construction effort to expand housing and infrastructure in the city.

Built over two floors, the new beer hall will showcase Taedonggang beer, North Korea’s signature brew, along with some international brands, and its clientele is likely to be primarily foreign tourists and the Pyongyang elite. Most North Korean citizens can only afford home brews or spirits like soju, and beer currently accounts for only about 5% of the country’s alcohol consumption.

Commercial North Korean domestic beer production really began in 2000 by the Taedonggang brewery, when the country acquired England’s Ushers Brewery after its closure, and transported the equipment to Pyongyang, where it was reassembled with help from German experts.

By 2002, the Taedonggang Brewing Company began operations, producing various beers, including the light lager Taedonggang No. 2, renowned for its crisp taste and effervescence.

Despite its growing popularity, beer remains a luxury in North Korea, and luxury beer bars like the new Hwasong Taedonggang Beer Restaurant are inaccessible to the majority of North Koreans. In Pyongyang, men are often allotted a limited number of beer vouchers, enough for one to two litres monthly, highlighting the exclusivity of such establishments.