プライベートツアー：北朝鮮料理教室＆脱北者とのトーク

Even though this activity didn't involve any cooking, I'm still giving 5 stars because it fully delivered on the experience of tasting homemade N. Korean dishes and taking with someone who escaped N. Korea for a new life. Tour includes transportation to and from your hotel to the home of a N. Korean defector. Depending on where you're staying, it might take an hour or so each way. My driver was also an English-speaking guide who shared friendly conversation during the drive. You also get a peek into a Korean home (my first time seeing a kimchi fridge), just another special aspect of this activity. Because I'm not a big beef or pork eater, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that meat isn't the main protein at many N. Korean meals, the dishes were mostly vegetarian, including tofu, soy "meat", rice, beans, and potato noodles (if you have food allergies, please let your guide know, kimchi can contain shrimp). I quite enjoyed each of the dishes and there was plenty of food so you could easily stuff yourself if you want. Hearing the defector's escape story was quite interesting. It's not guaranteed you'll visit the same person that I met, but I don't think it matters -- the stories will be as unique as the individuals. We also had plenty of time to ask our curious questions and even to take a photo with the chef. Honestly, I don't think there would've been enough time to enjoy the food and chat if we had a bunch of cooking to do, I think the operators should just change the activity title to "N. Korean food tasting and chat with N. Korean defector". 😅

Interesting and fun experience, it's not every day you learn about North Korean cuisine!! And in particular learning about the difficult and sad situation of life in North Korea. I really liked it.