This is Randi Hacker with another Postcard from Abroad from the KU Center for East Asian Studies.

Things are changing in North Korea. First, tourism, which was restricted to approved visits only during the Mass Games, has opened up: visitors are welcome all year. Second, the Pyongyang Marathon is a yearly event in which international runners lope down the weirdly empty streets of this country’s capital city. Third, North Korea has just set up its own Netflix-type streaming service: propaganda on demand 24 hours a day! And fourth, the first ever beerfest featuring seven beers (called beer 1, beer 2, beer 3 etc) from the Taedonggang brewery. Tourists and locals were served by comely uniformed North Korean beer wenches and watched big screen TVs showing statues of the noble proletariat. Plans are already in place for next year. It’s party time in the Hermit Kingdom! Come on down!

From the KU Center for East Asian Studies, this is Randi Hacker. Wish you were here.