Arch of Triumph (Korean Style)

When we came out of the subway we were right next to Pyongyang’s own Arch of Triumph. Korea built it to commemorate Korea’s resistance to Japan between 1925 and 1945.

They modelled it after Paris’ own Arch of Triumph and everyone knows that this one is bigger. Yet not everyone knows that this is only the second biggest in the world. That title belongs to the Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico City (I guess that’s another item added to my bucket list).

We took some pictures, but unfortunately we didn’t get to go inside as we were just there to catch a bus. Our next destination: another type of hotpot. This time the kind that was once eaten from a soldier’s helmet…

Hotpot (Also Korean Style)

Our bus took us to a hotpot restaurant somewhere else in Pyongyang. Korean hotpot was originally eaten out of helmets during the Korean War. At the time it probably followed the same recipe as my Grandad’s Scouse: whatever you can find throw it in the pot and boil it.

Nowadays it consists of ramen noodles, egg, vegetables and meat. We each got an individual pot and our guides showed us which order to throw the food in. Once it was all cooked we got to eat my favourite Korean dish of all time.