North Korea’s New Beachfront Resort: A Glimpse of Luxury Behind Locked Doors

Image Source: NoMusica

North Korea formally opened the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area, a huge beach resort along the nation's east coast, in a lavish ceremony hosted by Kim Jong Un and starring guest appearances by his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and daughter, Kim Ju-ae. The ceremony is a sign of Kim's desire to build North Korea's tourism sector, but the opening remains highly symbolic, with access tightly controlled and broader international tourism a long-term dream.

Key Highlights:

The Wonsan-Kalma resort stretches over a 4-kilometre-long coastline and comprises hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, sports complexes, and a water park. It has a tourist capacity of up to 20,000 annually.
Construction started in 2018 but was hampered by technical problems and the COVID-19 pandemic. The resort was initially supposed to open in 2019.
Kim Jong Un, his family members, and Russian Ambassador Alexander Matsegora attended the official opening ceremony on June 24, signaling growing relations between Russia and North Korea.
The resort opens on July 1 to its first domestic tourists, but no date has been set for when foreign visitors—apart from a limited number of Russians—are to be admitted.
Before the pandemic, the largest number of foreign travelers to North Korea came from China, but travel is still strict now. Russian tourists only have been permitted in recent months as an expression of greater cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.
The ceremony comes in the wake of the resumption of the direct train link between Russia and North Korea after a five-year hiatus.

They are doubtful about the resort's attraction to Western tourists, citing sanctions, controls, and the reputation of the country for tightly controlled, low-key tours.

Kim Jong-un greeted the resort as "one of the greatest achievements this year" and "the proud first step" towards a new era of tourism in North Korea, with others of a similar nature planned for the future.

"It is interesting to discover a beach resort influenced by the distinctive cultural setting of North Korea." — Elliott Davies, Uri Tours

Source: Euronews, Economic Times, BBC, Times of India, CNN