SINCE Kim Jong Un came to power following the death of his father in December 2011, North Korea’s Young Leader has shown a passion for construction projects, with the emphasis on leisure—a pursuit he promised his subjects early on, along with prosperity. Mr Kim swiftly ordered the renovation of Pyongyang’s two main funfairs. A new water park, 4D cinema, dolphinarium, riverside parks, residential skyscrapers and a new airport terminal have all followed. Now an underground shopping centre is being built in the capital to cater to a small class of newly monied Pyongyangites.

Fantasy reunification: What the two Koreas would gain from each other if Kim Jong Un's regime fell At the centre of this group sit the donju, wealthy traders whose investments have been fuelling a retail and construction boom in Pyongyang which is starting to change the face of the capital. A cluster of new high-rise apartments has been constructed forming a quarter that local diplomats now refer to as “Pyonghattan”. Successful donju own some of the foreign cars on the city’s busier streets. Others ride in its expanding fleet of taxis. Most own smartphones. This growing segment of the population is already visible on Pyongyang’s streets as young women shrug off dowdy outfits for fitted jackets, bolder colours and sunglasses. Coats with a discreet Burberry pattern on the lining are popular, and high heels have appeared, some in leopard print or silver. These goods have become more accessible with the gradual recognition of the market economy by the state. Reports even suggest that some workers have started to receive pay at black-market rates (see full story).

But for all the change in Pyongyang, this lifestyle remains within the reach only of a select few. Income inequality appears to be growing rapidly between those living in “Pyonghattan” and those in the city’s shabbiest districts, between those who own cars and those who cannot yet afford a smartphone. But the starkest contrasts are with the North Korea beyond the capital, out in rural areas where men can be seen walking oxen through fields, and women washing their clothes in streams. To them and millions of others, Mr Kim’s promises of a new era of prosperity and leisure must still sound hollow.

