There are at lest eight North Korean Restaurants in Beijing, mostly centered around the embassy district. All of these outposts are operated as businesses by the North Korean government, which uses the restaurants as a way to generate income for the state, especially much needed reserves of foreign currency.

Beijing’s North Korean restaurants vary in their quality and expense. The Pyongyang Guan is the cheapest, and Beijing’s top-of-the-range North Korean eatery is the Silver Bank Pyongyang Restaurant, which recently moved to a new home in Beijing’s Central Business District. At the Silver Bank, private dining rooms can be booked for 600 RMB. Meals at most other North Korean restaurants will set you back at least 100 RMB per head.

Nearly all of the restaurants offer song and dance performances.