Kim Jong-il’s Bizarre Pizza Quest

Travel Blog  •  Julia Ross  •  03.17.09 | 12:02 PM ET

This just in from the parallel universe known as North Korea: the country’s first-ever pizzeria has opened in Pyongyang. The Guardian reports that Kim Jong-Il’s longtime obsession with pizza—and a decade-long campaign to train North Korean chefs in making the perfect pie—has culminated in the launch of a restaurant that flies in wheat flour, butter and cheese from Italy. 

In any other country the opening of a pizza joint would be unremarkable, of course, but given that millions of North Koreans have died of famine since the mid-90s, the only word I can muster is: tragic.

Tags: Food, Tres Loco, Asia, North Korea, Shrinking Planet

Julia Ross is a Washington, DC-based writer and frequent contributor to World Hum. She has lived in China and Taiwan, where she was a Fulbright scholar and Mandarin student. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Time, Christian Science Monitor, Plenty and other publications. Her essay, Six Degrees of Vietnam, was shortlisted for "The Best American Travel Writing 2009."


1 Comment for Kim Jong-il’s Bizarre Pizza Quest

Matt Powers 05.01.09 | 12:15 PM ET

We should re-work our Kim Jong Bobblehead to show him as a pizza delivery driver!

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