Are Casinos in North Korea Operational?

The very fact that there are any North Korea casinos will probably come as something of a surprise to most people. The Hermit Kingdom, as it is sometimes known (this is actually a much older name for the whole of Korea, now usually applied only to the North), is the last Stalinist dictatorship left on the planet. The regime is so restrictive that mobile phones are not allowed at all. When they were handed out to regional officials, they were then confiscated again as they had become an alternative method of communication, outside the State structures.

Even the radios are permanently soldered to receive only the State radio channels, so that no one ever gets tempted to listen to South Korean stations. North Korea really is the most oppressive country currently extant. Another claim to fame is that it is the first hereditary Communist dictatorship, something that not all that many old style Communists would actually think was a good idea. What with all that repression (yes, they have an extensive network of gulags, work camps for those who have displeased the leadership) and the pure idiocy of their economic system (they cannot actually feed their own population), it would be something of a surprise to find any North Korea casinos at all.

However, no one should underestimate the capacity of this country to surprise. There are indeed North Korea casinos, two of them apparently, possibly a third. The first of North Korea’s casinos is in Pyongyang, the capital. Called, with breathtaking originality, the Pyongyang casino, it is a little difficult to know whether it actually exists. Certainly, North Koreans are not allowed to enter it if it does, and the number of tourists to the country each year is only a few hundred. Perhaps, it caters to those very few diplomats and foreign businessmen who are posted there, but that would be an extremely small clientèle.

The second of North Korea’s casinos that may or may not exist is the Seaview Casino Hotel in Rajin. Sixteen tables and 52 slots are what is listed. However, many think that this is either a renaming or another name for the Emperor casino in Rajin-Songbong, a free trade area that North Korea is trying to establish on the border with China. The Emperor casino is the third and last of North Korea’s casinos that is definitely known to exist. It was set up to cater to the cross-border trade from China: all forms of gambling in China being illegal until very recently. No North Koreans, other than the staff, were allowed into the complex at all (and they wouldn’t have the money to play there anyway). When the Chinese found that government officials were embezzling money and then losing it at the casino, they closed the border to gamblers. The Emperor thus closed as it had no customers.

So the question of whether or not there are actually any functioning North Korea casinos is unanswered. There might be one in the capital and there’s definitely an empty unused one on the Chinese border, but beyond that, no one really knows.

Source | Notrh Korea Casino

• Pol Pot Victim to Build Casino Resort Near Angkor Wat Kith Meng grew up in Australia as an orphan and a refugee from Cambodia's genocide. He tells of washing dishes and mowing lawns to make ends meet while living in...
• Can Singapore Support New Casino Resorts With roulette wheels spinning and jackpot machines already whirring in casinos throughout a dozen Asian countries, the inevitable question that springs to mind is: Will there be enough well-heeled customers...
• Asia Listing ARMENIA (4) Cambodia (14) China (1) Hong Kong (3) India (6) Israel (5) Japan (31) Kazakhstan (26) Kyrgyzstan (1) ......................................... Laos (1) Dansavanh Nam Ngum Resort 168 Luang Prabang Road...

• Introduction to the Hybrid Diesel Electric Car The hybrid diesel electric car has been under develop since as far back as early 1993 in the United States, but the only hybrid diesel electric vehicle to reach production...
• Weakonomics Tour Of The Country: New York AKA The Capital State Number 11 of the original 13 colonies, New York is one of the most significant states in the country.  It trails only behind Texas and California...
• Russia, U.S. want North Korea nuclear talks A construction site for a nuclear facility in North Korea. Google Satellite Image posted by Podknox Russia and the U.S. are pushing for another round of six-party talks over North...