Pyeongchang and Pyongyang 2018?
Pyeongchang and Pyongyang 2018?
We weigh in on North and South Korea cohosting the 2018 Olympics.
Last week, the IOC awarded the 2018 Winter Olympic Games to Pyeongchang, South Korea. On Monday, South Korean strong presidential contender Sohn Hak-kyu said he would seriously consider co-hosting the Olympic Games with North Korea. Naturally, The Daily Sip team had to evaluate this decision on the basis of wine. As it turns out, a whole lot of the good vino might be north of the 38th Parallel.
According to Kenji Fujimoto, Kim Jong Il’s personal sushi chef from 1988 to 2001, the North Korean leader had over 10,000 wines in his personal cellar.
The Dear Leader seems like a thirsty guy-- a connoisseur of Johnny Walker Swing scotch ($60) and $630 Hennessey Paradis. (About the latter, recent estimates claim that the 5’3” dictator spent $800,000 per year on the famous French brandy—some 1,270 bottles ).
After North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon in 2006, the United Nations Security Council hit the strong man in the kidneys. In addition to banning the sales of bomb and rocket-making equipment, the UNSC embargoed over sixty luxury goods, including wine, beer, spirits, caviar, seafood, and “truffles and preparations thereof.”
So, if we’re going to sit through ice luge in the North Korean winter—or a whole game of curling—the UNSC will have to take a vacation from embargo enforcement, and Dear Leader will have to share some of the love.
Tags: Kim Jong Il, North Korea, South Korea
