The very fact that there are any North Korea casinos will probably come as something of a surprise to most people. There are indeed North Korea casinos, two of them apparently, possibly a third.

The first of North Korea’s casinos is in Pyongyang, the capital. Called, with breathtaking originality, the Pyongyang casino, it is a little difficult to know whether it actually exists. Certainly, North Koreans are not allowed to enter it if it does, and the number of tourists to the country each year is only a few hundred. Perhaps, it caters to those very few diplomats and foreign businessmen who are posted there, but that would be an extremely small clientele.

The second of North Korea’s casinos that may or may not exist is the Seaview Casino Hotel in Rajin. Sixteen tables and 52 slots are what is listed. However, many think that this is either a renaming or another name for the Emperor casino in Rajin-Songbong, a free trade area that North Korea is trying to establish on the border with China.

The Emperor casino is the third and last of North Korea’s casinos that is definitely known to exist. It was set up to cater to the cross-border trade from China: all forms of gambling in China being illegal until very recently. No North Koreans, other than the staff, were allowed into the complex at all.

To sum up, the question of whether or not there are actually any functioning North Korea casinos is unanswered. There might be one in the capital and there’s definitely an empty unused one on the Chinese border, but beyond that, no one really knows.

Directory Korea for March 2012 is about Korea Directory. Directory Korea is a Korean websites offers users variety links of business, shopping, real estate, lodging, traveling, education, computer, technology, insurance, government and more.