Pyongyang: Inside the secret brothel of North Korea’s elite

[norigo77]

Interesting! Waiting for update too.

[Steventan]

TS, thanks for sharing.
Please carry on...
Will up your rep, when power return.

[sadfa]

Sounds like total fucking rubbish.

No ones in his right mind will bluff the north Korean government for the sake of a stupid brothel. It's like sneaking into area 51 base to see the toilet paper they use. Or going to Kim jong ils palace to steal his underwear

For those who dont know anything about north Korea, just know its compared to spore. So you know its a brutal evil oppressive dictatorship.

[nimrod69]

Here's the link :

http://www.eastasiatribune.com/north...-koreas-elite/

cheers

[fawx]

interesting interesting. different POV from the norm that we are so used to.

[sony2002]

hope got some pic to see

[lancerlution2]

Thx TS. Love watching and reading abt North Korea. Totally interesting.

[sanuuk]

Good stuff TS ! Please ignore kuasimi de clone!

[notti_boi]

The second instalment in a three-part series by East Asia Tribune journalist Chu Jingyi picks up where the first piece left off. Chu is in North Korea under a false identity, seeking to answer a question that has intrigued him for years: What lies beneath the Pothonggang Hotel? But will his curiosity lead him to being captured and sent to a North Korean prison camp – or worse?

[notti_boi]

My mind was racing as I followed Gyeong Ji-Hu down the stairs of the Pothonggang Hotel’s fire escape. What would we find in the basement of the building? Would it be, as I had assumed, a secret brothel? Would it even still be there now, six years since I had first crouched in a dark alcove of this very staircase and overheard a conversation between two North Korean army generals? I was so distracted by these thoughts that I nearly crashed into the back of Gyeong, who had come to an abrupt halt without any advance warning. He motioned for me to be quiet and craned his head out over the railing of the staircase. After a minute of silence, he turned and whispered: “It’s OK. I thought I heard something. Let’s keep going.” Not for the first time I was reminded of the enormous risks that both Gyeong and I were taking by even being here. In the hotel room next to my own on the ninth floor, my official DPRK minder for this trip, Jang Wong-Yon, was hopefully still sound asleep in a drunken slumber. If he were to wake and discover my absence, the alarm would be sounded immediately and my chances of ever leaving North Korea would take a severe blow. I tried to clear these thoughts from my mind and focus on remaining silent as we descended further down the staircase.

We had reached the second floor when we heard a door slam shut several floors above us. “Run!” Gyeong whispered loudly, and I wasted no time in following his order. We raced down the stairs as quietly as possible until we reached the bottom of the staircase. Here, Gyeong swiftly pulled the door open and bundled me through into a large, dark space. “Where are we?” I asked, as Gyeong continued to direct me through the darkness. He didn’t reply, but continued to lead me forward until we swung behind a large column. “Get down” he hissed, and we had only been there for a few moments when the door we had just emerged from creaked open and a beam of light pierced the blackness. This is it, I thought. All this trouble and my only reward is to be sent directly to a prison camp. The narrow band of light waved around the room for a few moments, and I felt Gyeong tense up, but all of a sudden it flicked off, soon to be followed by the sound of the door slamming shut. Gyeong and I both breathed a sigh of relief, knowing full-well how close we had come to detection.

From the brief glimpses I had of the area while it was lit by the flashlight, I determined that we were in the hotel’s loading dock. This was confirmed as I followed Gyeong past several fully-loaded dumpsters and a forklift. “This way,” he whispered, as we approached a ramp leading upwards. As we progressed, the area became progressively better lit and I realized the air was fresher; we must have been getting close to the ground-level exit to the dock. I wanted to ask Gyeong where we were going, but he abruptly stopped again. Over his shoulder, I could see the reason: a small guardhouse was positioned at the top of the ramp, and the faint sound of music emanated from within. “Don’t worry,” whispered Gyeong, “If he’s still awake it’ll be a miracle.” Sure enough, as we crept closer to the guardhouse, we could hear the music was punctuated by the regular snoring of the guard. Even so, we ducked our heads as we passed by the window and ventured out into the night.

So there isn’t anything hidden in the basement? I was confused as I followed Gyeong down a dark alley behind the hotel, which soon turned into a side street. I glanced at my watch to check the time: it was 1:28 AM. “Where are we going?” I asked, hoping that Gyeong would explain what had compelled him to take me on this risky tour of Pyongyang by night. “Don’t worry, we’re almost there.” We turned left down another side street, and the right onto another, and I followed Gyeong for several hundred metres down this street before he took a left down a narrow alleyway. There was a doorway at the end, and a tall man was standing outside smoking a cigarette. Oh great, I thought. We’d come all this way just to get caught before Gyeong could show me whatever he’d been planning to. The man flicked his cigarette into the gutter and barked out heavily-accented Korean at us. “Comrade Gyeong, who is this man?” he demanded, pointing at me with an unpleasant expression. To me, Gyeong whispered: “Don’t say a word.” I was only too happy to follow that instruction.

[notti_boi]

“Comrade Mun, show some manners when addressing our honoured guest,” said Gyeong. “Mr Chu is an important businessman from China, and it would be best if you treated him with the full respect he deserves.” Mun was far from satisfied with this answer. “You know full well no foreigners are meant to be brought here,” he exclaimed, “The chairman would have your neck if he learned of this disobedience.” Gyeong surprised me by chuckling. “I have no doubt he would have yours too, Mun, if he discovered your secret liaisons with Comrade Jeon.” Mun’s face darkened and he switched his glare from me to Gyeong, who continued talking. “If you have any brains inside that ugly head of yours, you’ll let us pass right now.” I didn’t think insulting the tall man was a smart move, even if he was quite unattractive. Despite the poor illumination of the alley, I could still see Mun’s face turn red with anger, and he appeared to be debating whether to step forward and strike Gyeong. Thankfully he chose not to, but it was clear that it was a decision he made after some consideration. “Fine, but if anything happens it’ll all be on your head.”

Mun fetched a key from his coat pocket and unlocked the door before swinging it open. “Come on, before he changes his mind,” whispered Gyeong. As we walked past Mun, he glared at me again as if I was his mortal enemy, but he didn’t make any further comments. As we crossed the threshold into the building the door slammed shut behind us, followed by the sound of Mun’s key turning in the lock. I was grateful to no longer be in the presence of Comrade Mun, who had left me questioning whether my endeavours to investigate North Korea’s secrets were such a worthy enterprise.

My doubts continued as I followed Gyeong further into the building. The room we had stepped into was small and sparsely decorated, with no windows and a short staircase leading up to a doorway. Was this an interrogation facility? I pondered. Or worse, was it an execution chamber? Gyeong could sense my nervousness and stopped to placate me. “I apologise again for all the sneaking around, Mr Chu,” he offered, “But we have reached our destination.” I opened my mouth to ask him where we were, exactly, but he’d already turned to walk up the stairs. With a locked door to my rear, the only option was to follow him onwards into the mysterious building. Gyeong paused at the top of the stairs and pressed a button to the side of the handle. The sound of chimes from beyond the door could be heard, followed by a click as the lock mechanism released. “You see, Mr Chu, there’s really no other place quite like this in Pyongyang, or anywhere else in North Korea, for that matter.”

Gyeong swung open the door and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the brightness of the room beyond. When my vision cleared, I was immediately struck by the opulence of it all; after our long and arduous journey through the loading dock and the back alleys behind the hotel, it was a sharp contrast to suddenly be in this grandly-decorated space. The room itself was large, perhaps the size of the Pothonggang Hotel’s lobby, and the walls were draped with the most magnificent curtains, which were a dark-purple velvet and embossed with intricate patterns of golden stitching. The floor was polished marble, waxed to a high sheen so that it perfectly reflected the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. In the centre of the room, above an ornate Turkish rug, was a ridiculously large lounge suite, and nestled among the silk cushions was one of the most enormous women I have ever laid eyes upon. She turned to us as we entered the room. “Ah, Ji-Hu,” she said, in an unexpectedly delicate voice. “Back again so soon?”

Ji-Hu, or Gyeong, as he was more commonly referred to, grinned broadly. “You know me, Sook-Ja,” he said, “I have trouble keeping away.” This prompted the enormous woman to laugh merrily, although she stopped abruptly once she spotted me. “Well, well, well,” she said. “This is a first for you Ji-Hu,” she declared. “You’ve never brought a friend along before, and a most-handsome one, at that. Who is this gentleman?” Gyeong introduced me as he had done with Mun downstairs, although Sook-Ja appeared much more agreeable to my presence. “We’ve haven’t had a Chinese visitor for many years,” she said in Korean, before adding, in passable Mandarin: “Welcome to our little home, Mr Chu. I do trust you will enjoy yourself here.” I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded my head in what I hoped was a gesture of respect. “Oh, he’s so adorable,” squealed Sook-Ja, and she motioned for us to come and join her on the lounge. “Shall I send for a bottle of your favourite soju? Or I could wake the chef up if you’re feeling hungry; he prepared an excellent samgyeopsal earlier this evening.” To my relief, Gyeong declined her offer. “We have an important meeting later this morning,” he told her, “So I’m afraid our time here is rather short.” Sook-Ja nodded in understanding. “Very well, I will inform Sun-Young that you have arrived, and ask the other girls to come out so your friend can make his selection.”

[notti_boi]

Finally, I thought. This confirms what I had overheard all those years ago. There really was a secret brothel in Pyongyang! For all the risks, it had been a worthwhile enterprise to get this far and discover the truth. The years of preparation and research had finally paid off, and having my suspicions validated at last came as a welcome relief. At the same time, it suddenly dawned on me that I would have to continue to play my part even now that I had confirmed my theory about the existence of the brothel. To back out at this point would be incredibly suspicious and sow seeds of doubt in Gyeong’s mind after the trouble he had gone to in bringing me here. While I did not particularly look forward to what was going to come next, I knew it was important to continue to remain in character.

My thoughts were interrupted immediately when Gyeong loudly said “No.” Both Sook-Ja and I stared at him, before he continued. “No, tonight I want my honoured guest to enjoy the company of Sun-Young. I want him to experience only the best.” Sook-Ja’s expression shifted to a look of complete surprise. “But Ji-Hu,” she protested. “Never in all the years I have known you…” She was interrupted again by Gyeong. “No, tonight Sun-Young will accompany my guest, and that is final,” he said, with force. Sook-Ja hesitated as though she wanted to convince him otherwise, but eventually she nodded. “As you wish, Ji-Hu. But it is most unusual.” Gyeong merely sat stone-faced and nodded stoically. “Most unusual,” muttered Sook-Ja, and she shook her head.

“What’s happening?” I asked Gyeong, conscious that someone who had no knowledge of Korean would be curious about the exchange that had taken place between the pair. “Don’t they have places like this in China?” he snapped, before adding “I have arranged for you the company of Miss Woon’s most beautiful employee. Please treat her well.” I could sense Gyeong was not particularly happy about offering me he his favourite girl, so I thought it would be wise to at least offer him a way out. “In Shenyang, they usually bring out a number of women so one can make a selection,” I ventured. Gyeong shook his head. “Trust me, you won’t be disappointed with Sun-Young.” His eyes betrayed his true feelings on this matter, but I decided not to press him further lest it cause him to grow suspicious. “Thank you,” I said. “You are truly a most gracious host.” To this, Gyeong did not reply, and I decided it would be better to wait in silence than risk provoking him further.

A sliding door on the far side of the room opened and two young women entered, dressed in pale-pink hanboks, a form of traditional Korean dress. I had not seen how Sook-Ja had summoned them, but beneath the voluminous muumuu she was draped in I suspected she had a buzzer of some sort to communicate with her staff. They approached Sook-Ja first and she whispered some instructions to them that I did not overhear. After she had finished talking to them, she turned to me and spoke in Mandarin once again. “These girls will lead you to Sun-Young’s quarters now. Please follow them, Mr Chu.” The young women turned to me and bowed deeply. “They don’t speak Mandarin, I’m afraid,” added Sook-Ja. I nodded and stood, while Gyeong remained seated on the lounge. “I will rest here a while, you go and enjoy yourself,” he said, and again I detected a trace of hostility in his expression. I debated once more if I should try to make him to change his mind, but he turned back to Sook-Ja and the pair continued their conversation. The two women were already walking towards the sliding door. Time to go, I thought, as I followed them.

Beyond the door was a long corridor decorated in an equally opulent manner to Sook-Ja’s sitting room. My limited knowledge of the world of fine art prevented me from identifying any of the authors of the oil paintings hanging from the walls, but even a complete novice such as myself could tell these were the works of masters. Ahead of me, the women glided along the corridor without a backwards glance, and I had to walk at a brisk pace to keep up with them. The corridor ended in a T-junction, and I followed the women as they turned down the left branch. As we walked down this corridor, I noted that the artwork increased in quality the further we progressed. Finally, we reached the end of the corridor and found ourselves outside a beautifully-carved mahogany door. One of the women produced a key from inside her hanbok and unlocked it. The pair walked inside and I was left in the corridor for a few moments before I decided to join them.

[notti_boi]

The interior of the room was, as I had expected, designed in a luxurious manner, with the centrepiece being a large, perfectly-round bed with a French-style headboard and covered by an assortment of pillows. The walls were draped by the same velvet curtains that I had seen in the sitting room, and I couldn’t tell if there were windows concealed behind them; I thought not, as it would be a security hazard if unauthorized eyes were to peep in. Against the far wall was a generously-sized jacuzzi which one of the women was filling with water, while the other opened a closet by the foot of the bed and withdrew a large bathrobe. She unfolded it and lay it out on the bed, nodding in my direction which I interpreted as a sign I was expected to wear the garment. She turned away and went to assist her colleague with the bath, selecting some jars of what appeared to be bath salts which she added to the water. I took the opportunity to change into the robe while the women continued to prepare the jacuzzi.

By the time I had changed, the tub was filled with an inviting pile of bubbles and the women were standing at the doorway. They nodded in the direction of the jacuzzi and silently left the room. I walked over to check the door knob and found it had been locked from the outside. Obviously I was not an honoured-enough guest that I could be trusted to roam the corridors unaccompanied. In the absence of anything better to do, I thought, I guess it’s time for a bath. This would prove to be an excellent decision, as I felt all my frayed nerves relax instantly as I sunk into the warm tub. Can’t let my guard down, I warned myself. Even so, I suddenly felt a great sense of exhaustion. The events of the day up to this point had been filled with some of the most risky decisions I had made in my journalistic career, and now that I finally had a quiet moment to myself I was having difficulty fighting the urge to close my eyes. Maybe just a short nap wouldn’t do any harm?

The next thing I remember was feeling a light pressure against my shoulders, and it took a moment for my brain to register that the sensation was from a pair of hands gently massaging my skin. My eyes flicked open and my first thought was that I must have slept for a long time, because the bubbles that had previously been covering the tub had all but disappeared. My next observation was that there was a feminine voice close to my ear, speaking Mandarin without a trace of any accent. “Hello Mr Chu,” said the voice. “Did you have a good rest?” My first reaction was to turn to the source of the voice, but as I started to move my neck in that direction I felt the hands that had been massaging my shoulders slide up and grasp my head. “I have an idea,” she said. “Why don’t you close your eyes for a moment and I’ll join you in the tub.” I sensed it was more of a request than a suggestion, so I nodded my head slowly and shut my eyes.

There was the sound of a light garment dropping to the floor, soon followed by a splash as the jacuzzi water was displaced. “You didn’t peek, did you?” she asked. I had been sorely tempted to, but had stuck to my end of the bargain. “No,” I replied. “That’s good,” she said. “You can open your eyes now.” I did as she requested, and was immediately grateful that the bubbles had mostly dissolved. “Hello,” she said. “I am Sun-Young.”

I have spent countless hours drafting and re-drafting this paragraph of my first impressions of the lovely Sun-Young. Suffice to say, despite my usual abilities with the written word, no combination that I have assembled has come close to capturing even a fraction of her beauty. It was as though an angel of the highest order had descended from the heavens and splashed down right in front of me in the tub. To write that the woman that sat before me was the most beautiful I had ever laid eyes upon would be no exaggeration. I was so captivated by Sun-Young’s perfection that I simply sat there for what felt like an eternity; unable to respond to her introduction or formulate the most basic sentence. Sun-Young’s gentle laughter broke the silence. “Are you OK, Mr Chu. You do speak Mandarin, if I am not mistaken?” She smiled after asking me this, further distracting my attempts to reply. “Yes,” I stuttered. “Yes, I do. I apologize, Sun-Young. Please, call me Jingyi.” Her smile broadened and she held out her a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jingyi.”

I left Sun-Young’s room two hours later, but it felt to me as though no time had passed at all. Indeed, as the pink-hanbok clad women escorted me back to the sitting room, I had to force myself from turning around and running back to her room, because I knew that I would never see her again. The thought depressed me and filled me with a desperate longing that I have never experienced. Simultaneously, I felt a deep anger welling up inside me at the North Korean regime: that they would take someone so lovely and perfect as Sun-Young and force her into this most despicable prison. As we passed the many closed doors along the corridors on our way back to Gyeong & Sook-Ja, I wondered how many other women were trapped here, servants of their evil masters. I struggled to compose myself as the women slid open the door to the sitting room.

“Welcome back Mr Chu,” said Sook-Ja, “I trust everything was to your satisfaction?” She gave me a knowing grin. Gyeong, I noticed, didn’t turn to face me, but instead took a long swig from a bottle of soju which had mysteriously appeared in my absence. “Yes, everything was perfect,” I replied, which prompted Gyeong to drain the bottle of soju and set it down loudly. His behaviour was confusing; if he hated the idea of me spending time with Sun-Young so much, which he clearly did, why had he so vocally demanded that she be my companion? I knew he wanted to do everything possible to get the coal contract signed, but surely no volume of coal would make up for the emotional trauma of sending another man to spend time with a woman such as Sun-Young. The whole thing was starting to bother me, and I felt the paranoia that had evaporated during the last couple of hours start to return.

With some difficulty, Gyeong lifted himself up from the lounge and turned to face me. “It’s almost 5 AM,” he grunted. “We must return to the hotel immediately.” Without waiting for me to reply, he strode off in the direction of the entrance. Sook-Ja raised her hand in my direction as a gesture of farewell. “Goodbye, Mr Chu,” she said, “And good luck for your meeting today.” With the events of the past hours, I had all but forgotten about the coal negotiations that were due to commence at 9 AM. There would be precious little time for sleep by the time we crept back in to the hotel, assuming we were not caught by any early-risers on our return trip. I bid Sook-Ja a quick farewell and sprinted after Gyeong, who was already halfway down the stairs to the ground floor of the building. “Hurry up,” he demanded.

[hongkongdoggy]

Good stuff bro! VEry informative indeed!

[sundial]

Originally Posted by sadfa

Sounds like total fucking rubbish.

No ones in his right mind will bluff the north Korean government for the sake of a stupid brothel. It's like sneaking into area 51 base to see the toilet paper they use. Or going to Kim jong ils palace to steal his underwear

For those who dont know anything about north Korea, just know its compared to spore. So you know its a brutal evil oppressive dictatorship.

Most likely some fantasy or to drive traffic to the site