Have you always dreamed of visiting a dictatorship? Of being afraid that any action you consider normal could land you in jail? Then you have the option to fulfill that dream. North Korea is set to open a tourist site for foreign tourists next week on its eastern coast. This bold move is what the communist country is calling “a new era in its tourism industry.” However, no information has yet been released as to when the country will fully open its borders to foreign visitors.
What will you get at the resort? The Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourism area is an extensive tourism project that includes hotels and additional lodging facilities intended to accommodate nearly 20,000 guests. The complex offers a wide range of activities such as the beach, sports games, and other leisure activities, like dining in restaurants, cafeterias, and more, as reported by North Korea's state media.
Leader Kim Jong Un toured the site and cut the ribbon at a lavish ceremony on Tuesday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Thursday. Kim declared that the construction of the site would be recorded as “one of the greatest successes of the year” and called the site “the first step” towards implementing the government’s tourism development policy, according to KCNA.
The North Korean leader is pushing to turn the country into a tourism hub as part of efforts to revive its failing economy. The Wonsan-Kalma area is one of Kim’s largest tourism projects. KCNA reported that North Korea will also approve plans to build large tourist sites in other parts of the country.
According to KCNA, the Wonsan-Kalma area will begin serving domestic tourists next Tuesday. However, no information was given on when the site will begin receiving foreign tourists. Despite the ambitious plans, North Korea has not fully lifted travel restrictions, including the ban on foreign tourists that was imposed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since February 2024, North Korea has been receiving Russian tourists amid the thriving violent military partnerships between the two countries. However, Chinese group tours, which accounted for more than 90% of tourists before the pandemic, have not yet been approved to resume.
In February this year, a small group of international tourists visited the country for the first time in five years, but nearly a month later, travel agencies said that trips to North Korea had been suspended.