North Korea is actually a surprisingly debauched place

So popular is boozing in North Korea that “getting drunk is anything but a faux pas,” says Simon Cockerell, the general manager at Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based tour operator. He says the overwhelming majority of Pyongyang nightlife tends toward alcohol and food, and there’s not much else to do in the nighttime hours.

“The vast majority of tourists are mainland Chinese,” he says. Many establishments cater to their tastes, though he says they aren’t especially known for misbehaving.

Prostitution is outlawed, but in the basement of the prominent Yanggakdo International Hotel is a place called the Golden Spring Island Sauna. Catering to Chinese tourists, it’s reputed to offer some “fun” with its female employees, Cockerell says, though he assures GlobalPost he has never visited personally.