Digital Nomad Pyongyang Scene

OK, so while North Korea is not exactly Phnom Penh or Bali, changes with the internet in the country now mean there is at least potential for a Digital Nomad Pyongyang scene.

This is not to say that it is easy to live in Pyongyang, nor that it is necessarily the best locale for working online. It is though at least possible.

Background to Pyongyang

Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea and has been through periods of hardship and political isolation. However, in recent years there has been visible development in parts of the city, with new infrastructure, housing projects, and investment in selected districts.

 It is the political, cultural, and economic centre of the country, with a population of around 3 million people. While it is not a booming global tech hub, it is far more developed in appearance today than many outsiders assume, with wide boulevards, monuments, and expanding commercial areas reflecting state-led development priorities and a bit of NEP going on!

Where to sleep in Pyongyang?

There are actually a lot of hotels in Pyongyang that are of a decent standard, including the Koryo Hotel and the Yanggakdo Hotel, which work out at about $100 dollars a night. Below these you get hotels like the Youth Hotel and others that can go down to around $70 or so a night. Long term deals can be worked out if you have a reason to be here.

All hotels used by foreigners have some form of internet access as of this year.

Can you rent a house or apartment in Pyongyang though? Well yes and no. If you have a reason to be here, such as working for an NGO or on approved assignments, then you can rent in APPROVED places. These though start from $2000 and go nowhere but up.

As a foreigner you cannot currently buy property in Pyongyang, but there is now at least an informal local housing market. Will this change one day? I think so and within the realms of communist, or Workers Party of Korea control.

Cost of living in Pyongyang

Pyongyang is not an easy city to live in, but if you do manage to get here it now offers almost everything you could need. There are malls, restaurants and bars, as well as enough imported groceries to keep you fed.

Monthly cost breakdown in Pyongyang (estimated for foreigners)

Rent (1-bed/4-bed approved accommodation): $2000–$5,000
Utilities (electricity, heating, water): $150–$500
Internet access (hotel terminals or approved home systems): $200–$500+ depending on usage
Phone plan (Koryolink foreign SIM, prepaid system): setup ~$50–$100, ongoing usage highly variable ($20–$200+)
Groceries (imported + local mix): $300–$600
Eating out (3–4 times per week): $200–$400
Transport (official taxis / arranged): $50–$150
Miscellaneous: $150–$300

Estimated total per month: $3,000–$6,500+ USD depending heavily on internet and lifestyle use. These are educated estimates based on foreigner access conditions rather than fixed public pricing.

Digital Nomad Pyongyang Scene

OK, so the good news is that there is now a café and bar scene in Pyongyang, but unless you are living legally here you cannot buy a Koryolink SIM card. There is no public WiFi in Pyongyang in the way most people understand it. Home internet is of course available if you are an approved expat in Pyongyang.

If you are here as a tourist though things become a bit different, but not impossible. While there was previously no internet, now there is access in all foreigner hotels, including outside Pyongyang in places like Hyangsan. Intent costs in Pyongyang are around $6 per 10 minutes, not cheap, but far from obscene.

So, yeah not exactly a Digital Nomad Pyongyang “scene”, but it is now possible for the first time to work online when you are in North Korea. The only problem is that it is still very hard to travel to North Korea right now, aside from visiting as part of a trade fair delegation, which I did and will write about later.

You can read my full article on internet in North Korea here.

The Pyongyang Nightlife scene?

I won’t go too heavy on the Pyongyang nightlife scene as it is something I will write more about in another article, but I will say this: when it comes to food and drink in Pyongyang, the city is booming. This is in stark contrast to how things were when I first started going in 2008, when it was one of the most spartan places on earth.

This now means that pretty much every genre of restaurant is now available in Pyongyang, as well as there even being some genuinely interesting bars. My favourite of these is in the new district nicknamed Pyonghattan. Here I am a big fan of the Clock Tower Restaurant and the German Beer House.

Can you live and work in Pyongyang in 2026?

Can you live in North Korea? Well this is very much a question that gets a yes and no answer. This is because gone are the days when lots of Western diplomats, NGO workers and teachers were based here. That though is not to say there are not expats in Pyongyang. There are, but they are predominantly Russian, or to a lesser degree Chinese. Rason conversely and despite being an “SEZ” has all but lost its expats.

There are some students still, but working in North Korea is much more closed to Westerners than it once was. If though you do manage to secure it, and I previously have lived in North Korea, you will find it is much more normal than you might expect.

The Digital Nomad Pyongyang Score?

OK, so it would be unfair to score being a digital nomad in Pyongyang in the same fashion that I have done in say Bali. Instead I will simply say that it is doable and much better than it has ever been. And if I got a chance to live in North Korea I honestly would.

Click to see my hypothetical North Korea Tours! One day, we hope at least….