Recalling my life in North Korea (25)

-Go to the Pyongyang Department Store and have dinner with the beautiful girl * * *

On the afternoon of the weekend, I came to the Pyongyang Railway Station Square with Xiao Zhao and Xiao Mei, and walked around here. We used to visit the department store next to the square to explore the mysterious shopping trip of North Korea.

When our party passed by the gate of the railway station, we saw a beautiful Korean girl walking towards us from a distance and greeted us. I was still wondering that I didn't know each other. Xiao Zhao, who was next to me, saw it and quickly walked over and responded enthusiastically to each other.

Xiao Zhao led the Korean girl and introduced me and my little sister to each other. It turned out that the Korean girl in front of her was Xiao Piao, a classmate of Xiao Zhao. Now her job is a tour guide that many people envy, and she is mainly responsible for receiving tourist groups from China.

"hello! Welcome to work in North Korea. I heard Xiao Zhao talk about you. " Xiao Pu greeted me with fluent Chinese when he saw me. I responded to her: "Hello! The Chinese you speak is very good. " Xiao Piao is embarrassed to say that it is still far from good.

Today, she came to the railway station to help the China tourists in the group go through the formalities, and met us here. She chatted with Xiao Zhao for a few words and then left us in a hurry. When he left, he said to me, "Go to the shopping mall in front of you and have a good look." Have fun. " After that, I walked into Pyongyang Railway Station.

Looking at Xiao Pu's leaving back, Xiao Zhao told me about her tour guide classmate. There is envy in the words. It seems that our little girl Xiao Zhao still has a soft spot for tour guides.

She also told me about it in normal times. She wanted to be a tour guide at first, but unfortunately she didn't get it. I had to choose my current unit and become my translator now, but I was lucky enough to know me.

In the past, there were more and more people on the way to shopping malls. On weekends, everyone would choose to come to the railway station square, which is full of subway stations and surrounded by many shops, making it convenient to travel.

At this time, we passed a roadside store filled with food and drinks, and several people stood in front of the door waiting in line to buy something. When my little sister saw it, she walked over curiously to have a look. Zhao Gang Jr. wanted to call his little sister to run away, so I pulled her and motioned for her not to shout, so we would accompany her to see more here.

My little sister has always dreamed that she can be a shop assistant, and she can own such a shop like the shop assistant inside, and she can open on time every day. Seeing such a roadside shop at this time, my little sister will inevitably have special feelings.

Xiao Zhao and I walked behind my little sister. All kinds of drinks and snacks were sold in the shops here, and the local people came to spend them in an endless stream. During our stay here for a while, we can see that many people come to buy the goods they need, and the business of roadside shops looks good at this time.

We also bought some local snacks here. I asked them to choose their favorite ice cream. Xiao Zhao also brought me one specially. When he came to North Korea, he had never tasted the local ice cream. Seeing Xiao Zhao and her sisters eating with relish, I believe the taste will be very good.

I followed them to taste the ice cream with Korean characters printed on it. It tasted very sweet, but there seemed to be nothing else. It's also a good enjoyment to see Xiao Zhao and them eat and have a cold drink in summer.

when we ate almost all the ice cream in our hands, we finally came to the department store in Pyongyang. Xiao Zhao specially stopped my little sister and me at the door, let us finish the ice cream in our hands and put the garbage in the trash can next to us.

Xiao Zhao went to the shopping mall first. She went in to ask if outsiders could go in today. My little sister and I waited outside for her to come back.

after a while, I saw Xiao Zhao coming out of it. Seeing her cheerful expression, I knew that there must be a show today, and I could go shopping with them.

Sure enough, Xiao Zhao came to us and said to us, "Come on, we can all go in today." He took us into the Pyongyang department store in front of us.

the department store is divided into upper and lower floors. The ground floor is filled with all kinds of furniture, as well as fashionable sofas. Let's take a walk on the first floor and visit the household items here in Pyongyang.

The furniture here looks very classy and has exquisite workmanship. The colors and styles of each set of sofas are very trendy and have a strong sense of fashion.

I was puzzled for a moment when I saw that the price was marked on each one and asked Xiao Zhao about the price. The prices of all kinds of furniture displayed here basically need thousands of RMB, or even more advanced. I really don't understand. The salary of local people is only a few hundred yuan a month. Can such a price be affordable?

going inside is the area where all kinds of electrical appliances are placed. Television sets, refrigerators and various household appliances are very complete here. Compared with domestic styles, it's a little monotonous here, unlike the diversified choices in China.

"Xiao Zhao, the price of the signs here needs several thousand RMB. Can the local people afford it?"

"Your salary as a translator is only over 6 RMB a month! It should be a good career here. You see, there must be tens of thousands of televisions, refrigerators and various household appliances. According to this calculation, how long will it take to afford it here? "

"It's so expensive. Will someone come and buy it?" I asked Xiao Zhao puzzled, thinking to ask her: Is this just a sample display, and few people buy it home?

Xiao Zhao smiled at me and said, "The furniture and all kinds of household appliances sold here are usually bought by local newcomers when they get married. At other times, few people usually buy it. Now my salary is not much, so I definitely can't afford it.

when I get married, I will definitely let my father come here to buy furniture. " After listening to Xiao Zhao, I told her that if I were still here, I would definitely give her a dowry.

The prices of goods here are generally more expensive than those in China. Some of the electrical appliances on display are printed with Chinese characters, which should be imported from China. The prices sold here are obviously higher than those in China.

We strolled all the way and met some Korean locals who came to see the furniture. In front of them, two beautiful waiters were giving them various explanations. Seeing their demeanor, they should have come to buy furniture.

Xiao Zhao, who is next to her, is envious that they can spend money here. I have to admit that there will be poor and rich people everywhere. Although North Korea is poor here, there will still be many rich people in Pyongyang.

privately, Xiao Zhao told me that local people who can do border trade in Pyongyang have many opportunities to make money. Now they can apply to drive private cars, and some have already driven luxury cars. In their leisure time, they usually invite a few friends to play golf together. It's just that these rich people need to report these things to their country, which will be subject to many restrictions. Compared with before, North Korea is much better at this time.

after a tour on the first floor, we walked up the stairs and came to the living area on the second floor. The goods here are very much like domestic supermarkets, and there are many places similar to domestic models.

On the left is a supermarket with various daily necessities displayed on the shelves. You can go in by cart and choose all kinds of goods on the shelves by yourself. At this time, there are already many people in it, shopping for the goods they need to take home in front of the shelves.

our group also pushed a shopping cart in the past, and we plan to go in and look around and buy some goods back. The shelves inside are filled with all kinds of daily necessities, which are placed in their respective areas in different categories.

More than 9% of the goods on display here are imported from China, and the familiar fonts on the packaging bags will make people overseas feel very cordial after seeing them.

It's just that the prices of these goods here are more than 2% or 3% higher than those in China. It is inevitable to raise prices appropriately when crossing national borders. After all, it takes a lot of checkpoints to get to the shelves in downtown Pyongyang.

I feel proud to be able to buy goods made in China here in Pyongyang. I feel particularly cordial when I see these Chinese font goods on the shelves. The mood at this moment can be described by a passage in the movie:

No matter where you are in the world, please don't forget that as a China native, there is a great motherland behind you to support you!

The pride of being a China person can only be realized if you really go abroad and look at the local people. What we are proud of is that the goods made in China have spread all over the world and entered the corners of foreign countries.

Before passing the container with milk, Xiao Zhao picked up the yogurt with Korean characters on the counter and motioned me to buy some bottles to try. This is a very famous brand in their local area, and it tastes very good. After listening to Xiao Zhao's strong recommendation, I took a few bottles back. By the way, I bought some snacks for the two sisters here, and asked Xiao Zhao to choose them during the period. She said no, so I asked my little sister to choose a few.

next, we went to the shoes and clothing area here. The clothes displayed here are quite complete, both for adults and children, and there are also clothes with people's characteristics. It's just that the styles are monotonous, but the women's styles are fashionable, which attracts many Korean women to try them on and buy them.

The men's clothing area is particularly deserted. The style displayed here is very simple, only a simple shirt, some two or three colors, or a relatively dark gray-black. This style looks a little old-fashioned, and it is estimated that few people will buy it in China. It looks like work clothes here, and basically no local Korean men come to buy them. Maybe for them, the styles here are beautiful and their aesthetic views are different.

Xiao Zhao next to me saw me looking at men's clothes and came over. By the way, I talked about the habit of local people coming to buy. Few people here come to buy men's clothes. One is that the price is high, and the other is that men go to work, and the unit will issue work clothes every year, so don't worry about clothes. Basically, you don't have to buy your own clothes to wear. In some units, the leadership and management will also issue fabrics regularly, and you can customize your own clothes.

according to Xiao Zhao, it makes sense. No wonder few people care about the clothes placed here. I'm afraid only those rich people will come and buy them.

finally, we stopped at the area where shoes of various styles were placed. Xiao Zhao and Xiao Mei were very happy to see the fashionable sandals on the counter. I will stop to try it on when I meet a favorite style.

Looking at the shoes displayed here, I thought they were imported from China. As a result, after looking at several models, I saw Korean characters printed on them and learned that they were products produced by their own factories. It turns out that they already have their own manufacturers, and they can also keep pace with the times to produce fashionable shoes.

We walked around here a few times, and when we saw Xiao Zhao trying on new shoes several times, we quietly asked her, "If you like it, we'll buy it."

Xiao Zhao always said to me, "No, the prices here are quite expensive." Later, I saw that she tried on one, and some of them were reluctant to put it back in place. I paid the waiter directly and told her that we bought this pair of shoes.

when I learned that I paid for this pair of shoes, Xiao Zhao planned to get the money back. Under my repeated insistence, she was willing to accept it, and I could see that Xiao Zhao liked it very much. Although she didn't say it, she must be very happy.

on the way back, Xiao Zhao also told me that the money I bought shoes just now must be given to me later. I responded that she was fine and gave you a pair of shoes without giving me money.

We are really tired after going out for so long today. On the way back, I asked Xiao Zhao to think about what delicious food there is near here, and we would go to have dinner together in the evening. Later, Xiao Zhao suggested going to a revolving hotpot not far from Pyongyang Railway Station Square.

We all carry a lot of things in our hands, and some of them are inconvenient to eat in restaurants. Or send things to my apartment first, and then have a rest before going to eat.

You can still see local women walking with things on their heads in the distant streets. I also asked Xiao Zhao, "Do you walk with things on your head?"

"No, many young people have stopped doing this for a long time now. Only those who are older still retain their old habits. " Xiao Zhao responded to me.

We sent our things to the apartment, and after having a rest downstairs, we began to go to the revolving hot pot here in Pyongyang.

I'm having dinner with two Korean beauties, Xiao Zhao!

to be continued! Continue to update and share more Korean customs!