The Pothonggang Department Store located on the banks of the Pothong River in Pyongyang was inaugurated in December twelve years ago.

The supermarket-style department store is a comprehensive commercial service provider selling famous products and commodities.

The section of foodstuffs is the first to be seen on the ground floor of the store which gives you a warm, cosy feel for the soft illumination.

Air Koryo-brand foodstuffs take a large proportion of foods stacked on counters.

According to the floor manageress Song Un Byol, these foods are the products of the Pothonggang Air Koryo Foodstuff Factory and the hundreds of kinds of health drinks, breads and processed meat products are popular with customers for their good taste and quality.

“I often buy omija(fruit of Schizandra chinensis)-flavour syrup here. My family members like it as it is fragrant and remarkably medicinal. I’ve bought various kinds of breads and drinks and my family favour Air Koryo-brand foodstuffs,” said regular customer Rim Song Mi.

On the ground floor there are also sundry goods for daily use, different shapes of flower pots, flowers and medicines.

The first floor is always crowded with women as there are household appliances, light industrial goods and functional cosmetics.

Ri Yon Hui, manageress of the department store, quoted the head of the press corps of a foreign country, who looked round the cosmetics counter of the department store some years ago, as saying in admiration that he could see that cosmetics of the DPRK were at the world level and that there was something extraordinary in the Pothonggang Department Store, as it had been visited by the DPRK leader and was selling all such nice goods to working people.

The second floor is filled with electrical appliances, electronic musical instruments, luxuries, children’s, men’s and women’s wear, sports goods, bags, footwear, various kinds of furniture and other famous products and commodities.

According to the floor manageress Pang Hye Suk, newlyweds have bought their electrical appliances, furniture and luxuries in large quantities and purchasers say that the quality of their goods is strictly guaranteed and the commodities are to customers’ liking.

The fish shop opposite the department store sells live fishes like sturgeon and Ryongjong fish, fresh marine products and various kinds of processed fishes.

Friendly service by employees of the department store always brings customers satisfaction.

It was visited by Chairman Kim Jong Il and the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un in December 2010.