With North Korea in the news every day, it has led to some fascinating stories about this mysterious country – in particular THIS!

North Korea Has A Legendary “Mystery Meat” Burger!
Bravo to the LA Times for their story on North Korea’s “Koryo” Burger! I had no idea this was a social media phenomenon – here is their story:
“On Air Koryo, North Koreaās state airline, flight attendants are known to serve one thing, and one thing only: a burger as mysterious as the secretive country itself.
The burger is always served cold, and always on a paper doily. Inside the bun is a piece of unidentified meat, a slice of processed cheese, a dash of shredded cabbage or a lonely lettuce leaf, and a dollop of sweet, brown sauce.”

I love this! The state Airline delivers a cold burger that looks as unappetizing as anything I’ve ever seen – so of course I need to eat one!

The story goes on to report:
“The āKoryo Burgerā features in countless Instagram feeds and online reviews, not many of them complimentary. It has āgained cult status among passengers,ā the British tabloid Daily Mail remarked in 2015. Many wonder: Why a burger, of all things? Whatās with the doily? What exactly is that meat?”

Just the use of the world “doily” is classic!
This is such a great article, because it goes from a story about this “mystery” burger to a look at life inside the country….here is more:
“Zhao Bin, 35, a businessman from the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang, said that on his first visit to Pyongyang, in 2003, the electricity cut out every night. āThe second time I went was almost 12 years later, and I think North Korea has developed a lot, and peopleās lives have improved dramatically.ā
Pyongyangās restaurant offerings now include fried chicken, pizza, sushi ā and yes, burgers. A burger, he said, costs about $1.50, and a 9-inch pizza costs less than $15. āMy impression of having foreign food [at Pyongyangās restaurants] is that the service is exceptional, and the ingredients are all very fresh ā unlike China, where thereās so much low-quality meat and vegetables.ā
Interesting that they actually have restaurants that can stay open, considering how little electricity there is in this country…

If you want more inside information about the “Koryo” burger, check out the entire LA Times article here:
http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-north-korea-koryo-burger-201704210421-story.html
North Korea has been in the news smooch recently – acting like a military power when in fact they are a small starving nation:

This book tells the story of life inside this repressed country, as told by refugees who managed to escape – see more here:
https://johnrieber.com/2015/08/13/nothing-to-envy-the-horror-of-life-in-north-korea-brilliant-book-looks-at-this-isolated-hell/
I want to go to this part of the world to see how people live – not North Korea, but their neighbor China:

J. Maarten Troost wrote a great book about China – with yak dumplings! See it here:
https://johnrieber.com/2012/09/09/cannibals-savages-sex-and-great-walls-too-troost-troost-troost-great-adventure-travel/
So, who is brave enough to bite down on a Koryo burger with me?

Like this:
Like Loading...
Categories: Books / Media, China, cookbooks, Exotic Travel, Food, food blog, Food Review, Hamburgers, Japan, Memoirs, Politics, Recipes, Restaurants, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir, Uncategorized, Wacky Food
Tags: 2017 north korea, A Day In The Life, advanturous China tourist spots, adventure escapes, adventure food, adventure food China, Adventure Travel, adventure travel china, adventurous food, amazing highway, amazing travel, amazing travel adventures, amazing travel sights, architecture, asian extreme cinema, Bacon, bacon wrapped chot dogs, Beijing crowds, beijing pollution, best china movies, best travel books, bizarre chinese restaurant, Brad Pitt on Japanese TV, bridge to nowhere, Cannibals, car travel, catch your own fish restaurant, China, china book, china bridges, china cliff restaurant, china documentaries, china pollution, china rivers, China tourism, China tourist locations, china travel, China unique food, China's dangerous hiking trails, China's Hua Shan trail, China's most unique restaurants, China's natural wonders, China's river highway, China's tourism, chinese dangerous food, chinese food, chinese lays potato chips, chinese pollution, chinese potato chips, chinese restaurants, chinese river highway, cliffhanger, cliffhanger restaurant, cliffside restaurant, cooking, crowded Beijing subway, crowded subway, crowded subways, dangerous backpacking, dangerous food, dangerous hikes, dangerous hiking, dangerous trips, DMZ, documentary films, English restaurants, entertainment, European travel, exotic adventures, exotic restaurants, exotic travel, exotic travel adventures, extreme adventures, extreme cusine, extreme hike, extreme hikes, extreme hiking, extreme travel, Fangweng Restaurant, Food, food adventures, food adventures China, food criticism, food review, food reviews, G4, getting stoned with savages, gourmet restaurants, great wall of china, Happy Birthday Morgan Webb, highways, Hua Shan trail, isolated nation history, isolated nations, isolated north korea, J. Maarten Troost, karaoke, Kim Jong-Un, korean bbq, Korean DMZ, koryo burger, koryo mystery burger, life in north korea, London restaurants, Lost On Planet China, memoirs, Morgan Webb, Morgan Webb birthday, Morgan Webb G4, Morgan Webb karaoke, Morgan Webb video, most crowded subway, most crowded subways, most dangerous hikes, most unique restaurants, mysterious north korean hamburger, new North Korea time zone, New North Korea time zones, nonfiction books, North Korea, North Korea apartment living, North Korea apartments, North Korea book, North Korea electricity, North Korea history, North Korea horror, North Korea leader Kim Jong-Un, North Korea living, North Korea memoir, North Korea military, north korea military tests, north korea missile launches, north Korea missile tests, north korea missiles, North Korea Ryugyong hotel, North Korea starvation, North Korea time zone, north korean food, north korean koryo burger, north korean today, Noryangjin, Noryangjin fish market, Noryangjin Seoul fish market, Pork Fried Rice, potato chips, recipes, repressed nations, restaurant food, restaurant review, restaurant reviews, Restaurants, river highway, robot restaurants, rock in China, roller coaster restaurant, Ryugyong hotel, savages, seafood, Seoul, Seoul fish market, Seoul food, Seoul food adventure, seoul karaoke bar, seoul south korea, Seoul street food, Seoul street markets, sex, sex lives, shanghai china, Shanghai restaurant, Shanghai subway map, shanghai subways, Shanghai toilet restaurant, Shanghai travel, Shanghair toilet restaurant, South Korea, south korea border, south korea night life, south korean tourism, south seas, south seas adventures, south seas travel, starving North Koreans, subway videos, subways, Susannah Breslin, sylvester stallone, tensions building in north korea, The Beatles, the great wall, The Lockup, The Lockup restaurant, The Sex Lives Of Cannibals, toilet restaurant, Tokyo food, tokyo restaurants, Tokyo!, tourism, transportation, travel, travel adventures, travel blog, travel books, travel china, travel food, travel guide, travel journal, travel journals, travel memoir, travel memoirs, travel vacations, Travel Writer, travel writing, Uncategorized, unique archtecturre, unique bacon, unique bacon food, unique bacon products, unique bacon recipes, unique China highway, unique chinese travel, unique cities, unique cooking methods, unique dining, unique food, unique highways, unique Japanese restaurant, unique potato chip flavors, unique recipes, unique restaurant dining, unique restaurant food, unique restaurants, unique travel, unique travel adventures, unique travel locations, wacky China restaurant, wacky China travel, wacky Chinese hiking trails, wacky food, Wacky Food advanturous China tourist spots, wacky restaurants, water highway, wild entertainment, world's best destinations, world's best restaurants, world's best travel, world's best travel sites, world's most crowded destinations, world's most crowded subway, world's most dangerous hiking trail, world's most dangerous restaurants, world's most extreme vacations, world's most unique food, world's most unique restaurants, world's wildest entertainment, world's wildest travel, yak dumplings, yaks
I canāt help but think of Soylent Green
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, you are a mind reader – tomorrow I am sharing a wild story about that!
LikeLike
I didnāt even know North Korea had an airline – who is actually allowed in or out of the country? But as we are in Lockdown Two what a pity I won’t get a chance to fly with them and taste the burger.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, the “national” airline controls who can enter the country and it’s not easy to do so…and yes, that burger is worth the effort, just to say you did it! Thanks for commenting!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A definite… No! from me…Enjoy boys if you get the opportunity …Happy NewYear !
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m horrified by mystery meats and odd parts as you know, so I’m going to give this one a bit NO, but I love the backstory.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Agree, more interesting than appetizing! Thanks for commenting!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on johnrieber and commented:
Did you ever wonder what a North Korean “Koryo” Burger was? Well, here it is – enjoy!
LikeLike
Hmm.. mystery meat? Not for me. But I do appreciate your book referrals. I love learning about other places and cultures, food and all. thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would try one of those, John. Unless I found out that they contained dog!
Yak dumplings are more to my taste though.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 2 people
HA! Pete, I’d be afraid to know!
LikeLiked by 1 person