Casinos in North Korea

The very fact that there are casinos in North Korea is probably a surprise to most people. The Hermit Kingdom, as it is sometimes known (this is actually a much older name for all of Korea, now generally applied only to the North), is the last remaining Stalinist dictatorship on the planet. The regime is so restrictive that mobile phones are not allowed at all. When they were handed over to regional officials, they were once again confiscated, as they had become an alternative means of communication, outside of state structures.

Even the radios are permanently sold to receive only the state radio channels, so that no one is tempted to listen to South Korean stations. North Korea is truly the most oppressive country in existence today. Another claim to fame is that it is the first hereditary communist dictatorship, something that many old-style communists would not think was a good idea. With all that repression (yes, they have an extensive network of gulags, labor camps for those who have displeased the leaders) and the sheer idiocy of their economic system (they can’t really feed their own population), it would be kind of It is surprising to find casinos in North Korea.

However, no one should underestimate this country’s capacity for surprise. In fact, there are North Korean casinos, apparently two of them, possibly a third. The first of North Korea’s casinos is in Pyongyang, the capital. Called, with impressive originality, the Pyongyang casino, it is a bit difficult to know if it really exists. North Koreans certainly can’t get in if you do, and the number of tourists who come to the country each year is only a few hundred. Perhaps it caters to the few foreign diplomats and businessmen who are stationed there, but that would be an extremely small clientele.

The second of the North Korean 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 this is a name change 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. Emperor Casino is the third and last North Korean casino that is definitely known to exist. It was created to cater to China’s cross-border trade – all forms of gambling in China were illegal until very recently. No North Koreans other than the staff were allowed into the complex (and they wouldn’t have any money to play there anyway). When the Chinese discovered that government officials were embezzling money and then losing it at the casino, they closed the border to gamblers. The Emperor closed like this as he had no customers.

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