This ambitious project, the Wonsan Kalma Resort, is set to open to domestic visitors on July 1, featuring facilities designed to cater to thousands, amidst hopes of revitalizing North Korea's tourism sector.
North Korea Launches Wonsan Kalma Beach Resort Amid Tourism Hopes
North Korea Launches Wonsan Kalma Beach Resort Amid Tourism Hopes
North Korea aims to enhance tourism with the launch of a new beach resort, as reported by state media.
North Korea is preparing to unveil its Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone in a push to enhance tourism in the isolated nation led by Kim Jong Un. According to state reports, the resort, located on the country's eastern coast, is slated for a domestic opening on July 1, despite being six years delayed. Foreign visitors' potential access remains unclear.
The resort is designed to accommodate as many as 20,000 visitors along a 4-kilometer beach, featuring an array of amenities such as hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, and a water park—a claim that remains unverified outside state media assertions. North Korea, heavily impacted by international sanctions due to its nuclear ambitions, struggles economically while allocating significant resources to military projects and landmarks that uphold the Kim family's legacy.
Analysts suggest that this initiative could serve as an avenue for generating foreign currency, particularly given that most tourists to North Korea are typically from neighboring China and Russia, which have maintained amicable relations with Pyongyang. However, Rowan Beard, co-founder of Young Pioneer Tours, expresses skepticism, suspecting that the new resort may not draw much interest from foreign tourists at large, despite hopes for a more comprehensive reopening to international travel.
Due to strict border closures initiated at the onset of the Covid pandemic in early 2020, international tourism in North Korea has faced significant declines. Although it reopened its borders mid-2023, allowing certain visitors from Russia and limited groups from the West, tourism abruptly halted again shortly thereafter, leaving many hopeful for a stable return of international tourists disappointed.
While some observers like Beard cast doubt on the viability of Wonsan against established attractions in Pyongyang and the DMZ for Western tourists, others such as Elliott Davies from Uri Tours believe the resort could cater to those seeking unconventional travel experiences reflective of North Korea’s distinctive cultural backdrop.
Celebrate a "great, auspicious event of the whole country," KCNA portrays the Wonsan development as a herald of a new era in tourism, following its original expected opening in October 2019, which faced multiple construction setbacks and pandemic-induced delays.
Attending the ceremony marking the project's completion on June 24 were Kim Jong Un, along with his daughter Kim Ju Ae and wife Ri Sol Ju, as well as the Russian ambassador and embassy representatives. With North Korea and Russia recently bolstering their ties amid Western sanctions, there's speculation about the resort potentially catering to Russian tourists, who are currently the only foreign nationals allowed into certain regions of North Korea.
The two countries recently resumed a direct passenger train route between their capitals, severed for five years due to the pandemic, highlighting the strengthening partnership amidst ongoing geopolitical dynamics.
The resort is designed to accommodate as many as 20,000 visitors along a 4-kilometer beach, featuring an array of amenities such as hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, and a water park—a claim that remains unverified outside state media assertions. North Korea, heavily impacted by international sanctions due to its nuclear ambitions, struggles economically while allocating significant resources to military projects and landmarks that uphold the Kim family's legacy.
Analysts suggest that this initiative could serve as an avenue for generating foreign currency, particularly given that most tourists to North Korea are typically from neighboring China and Russia, which have maintained amicable relations with Pyongyang. However, Rowan Beard, co-founder of Young Pioneer Tours, expresses skepticism, suspecting that the new resort may not draw much interest from foreign tourists at large, despite hopes for a more comprehensive reopening to international travel.
Due to strict border closures initiated at the onset of the Covid pandemic in early 2020, international tourism in North Korea has faced significant declines. Although it reopened its borders mid-2023, allowing certain visitors from Russia and limited groups from the West, tourism abruptly halted again shortly thereafter, leaving many hopeful for a stable return of international tourists disappointed.
While some observers like Beard cast doubt on the viability of Wonsan against established attractions in Pyongyang and the DMZ for Western tourists, others such as Elliott Davies from Uri Tours believe the resort could cater to those seeking unconventional travel experiences reflective of North Korea’s distinctive cultural backdrop.
Celebrate a "great, auspicious event of the whole country," KCNA portrays the Wonsan development as a herald of a new era in tourism, following its original expected opening in October 2019, which faced multiple construction setbacks and pandemic-induced delays.
Attending the ceremony marking the project's completion on June 24 were Kim Jong Un, along with his daughter Kim Ju Ae and wife Ri Sol Ju, as well as the Russian ambassador and embassy representatives. With North Korea and Russia recently bolstering their ties amid Western sanctions, there's speculation about the resort potentially catering to Russian tourists, who are currently the only foreign nationals allowed into certain regions of North Korea.
The two countries recently resumed a direct passenger train route between their capitals, severed for five years due to the pandemic, highlighting the strengthening partnership amidst ongoing geopolitical dynamics.
