Neighbors fume over North Korean karaoke

Neighbors of a North Korean coffee shop at a Wangjing residential compound in Chaoyang district have complained of sleepless nights after the restaurant installed karaoke.

Lots of Korean customers sing and shout after midnight at the Pyongyang Coffee Shop inside Wangjing Xiyuan residential community, alleged a Sina microblogger named Beijing Peking.

Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau responded to her via Weibo that they have received the complaint and have transferred it to Chaoyang district's Environmental Protection Bureau.

A coffee shop employee, surnamed Chi, who is from North Korea, denied they have a karaoke system in a phone interview, and said they only have North Korean dancing and singing in the bar area. She said their boss was North Korean, and there were no Chinese staff working there.

During the day, the restaurant serves typical Korean dishes, such as barbecue, but at night, it is a bar serving alcohol.

Yesterday, around midday, the sound of singing could be heard clearly. A North Korean waitress confirmed that the coffee shop did have a karaoke system, which is available until closing time at 1:30 am.

Liu Hongkuan, who lives at the Wangjing Xiyuan compound, said that at times, the deafening sound of singing and shouting could penetrate from the second floor to the sixth floor where he lives.

"I've got hearing problems but the noise is still very loud, and I can't sleep," Liu said.

Liu can also smell cooking oil fumes and smoke from the barbecue when he enters the building every day.

Chi Anyong, who also lives in the compound, believes there are lots of similar restaurants in the building that emit fumes and noise pollution.

Residents said property management staff had spoken to the coffee shop many times, but they had not acted on the charges, despite having received similar complaints last year.

In November, a resident posted on Wangjing's online forum complaining that cooking oil fumes from the shop discharged directly into residents' homes, causing respiratory problems and dizziness.

Wangjing, dubbed China's biggest "Korea Town," is home to more than 70,000 Koreans, according to Southern Metropolis Weekly.

Yesterday, Beijing Peking refused to comment about her microblog allegations.