Pizza in North Korea
Why this is trending
Interest in “Pizza in North Korea” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-07-21.
Categorised under Geography & Places, this article fits a familiar pattern. wt.cat.geography.1
GlyphSignal tracks these patterns daily, turning raw Wikipedia traffic data into a curated feed of what the world is curious about. Every spike tells a story.
Key Takeaways
- North Korea has several restaurants serving pizza.
- Pyongyang has five restaurants that serve pizza, including Pizza Restaurant on Kwangbok Street and Italy Pizza on Mirae Scientists Street.
- History North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who was noted for his lavish culinary habits, made efforts to introduce international cuisine in the 1990s.
- The Italian chefs brought two pizza ovens, which were allegedly intercepted by CIA agents at the Berlin airport.
- He wrote that he was subjected to an extensive medical examination and tests of his cooking skill before he could begin instruction, and noted that his pupils measured the distance between olives.
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Source summary
WikipediaNorth Korea has several restaurants serving pizza. Most people in the country cannot afford pizza, and it is mostly available for the elite. Pyongyang has five restaurants that serve pizza, including Pizza Restaurant on Kwangbok Street and Italy Pizza on Mirae Scientists Street. Kim Jong Il hired Italian chefs to train North Koreans in pizza making and introduced it to the country.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who was noted for his lavish culinary habits, made efforts to introduce international cuisine in the 1990s. In the spring of 1997, he had pizzaiolo Ermanno Furlanis flown into Pyongyang, along with another Italian chef and both of their wives, to train North Korean generals in pizza-making for three weeks. The Italian chefs brought two pizza ovens, which were allegedly intercepted by CIA agents at the Berlin airport.
Furlanis described his experience in a three-part series for Asia Times Online in August 2001. He wrote that he was subjected to an extensive medical examination and tests of his cooking skill before he could begin instruction, and noted that his pupils measured the distance between olives. "I could not explain the concept of creativity", he noted.
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