Studying in North Korea: A Unique Experience & Teaching the Boss to Cook Guide

Today, my sister and I had the most unexpected culinary adventure while grabbing a bite to eat. Our class monitor asked us for a favor—to help translate the restaurant’s menu for the new international students who were still struggling with the language. We happily agreed, thinking it would be a quick job of simply adding Chinese translations beside each dish.

What started as a simple translation task quickly turned into a full-blown cultural exchange! My sister, ever the creative one, suddenly pulled out a photo of fried rice from our university cafeteria back home. With sparkling eyes, she began enthusiastically explaining all the variations of “gai jiao fan” (rice topped with dishes) [LOL], insisting that Chinese students would go crazy for it.

Before we knew it, we were both behind the counter, demonstrating how to prepare the perfect toppings [munching melon seeds]. The owner got so into it that by the end, we’d successfully convinced him to add “di san xian” (that delicious stir-fry of potatoes, eggplants, and peppers) to the permanent menu [dog face].

Who knew menu translation could turn into such a delicious cultural bridge?