Kim Jong Un is looking to tourism to bring an influx of cash to the Hermit Kingdom as North Korea readies to open a beach resort, according to state media reports.
The resort in Wonsan Kalma, located on North Korea’s east coast, will be open for domestic travelers on July 1, six years after its planned opening. It is unclear when international tourists will, if ever, be able to make the journey.
While tourists may gain special permission to enter the country as part of an organized tour group, most tourists come from allied countries like China and Russia, according to BBC News. Countries that also share a history of tumultuous relations with the United States.
Wonsan Kalma on the east coast will open to domestic tourists on July 1, six years after it was due to be completed. It is unclear when, if ever, it will welcome foreign visitors.
"I was hoping this might signal a broader reopening to international tourism, but unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case for now," Rowan Beard, co-founder of Young Pioneer Tours, told the BBC.
Restrictions and life in North Korea
The town, once known for its missile testing site and the luxury villas of the country's elite, will open its doors to up to 20,000 visitors, according to KNCA. While unverifiable, the resort will allegedly house a water park, restaurants, shopping malls, and a number of hotels.
While the resort may attract domestic tourists, Beard warned that it was unlikely to attract Western visitors who are more interested in visiting "Key sites like Pyongyang, the DMZ, and other brutalist or communist landmarks…”
Despite the plans for a retail and restaurant hub, North Korea ranked 10th on the Global Hunger Index in 2024. Rare exclusive interviews with citizens of the isolationist state in 2023, conducted by the BBC, revealed that some citizens feared starving to death.
The Hermit Kingdom, a nickname gained by the country for its extreme isolation, is also one the hardest countries in the world to visit, requiring visitors to obtain a visa through a travel agency registered with the State General Bureau of Tourist Guidance, travel around only with a registered tour group, and follow a number of strict restrictions while in the country. Israelis have only been allowed to enter the country since 2016, and US passports are not valid for travel to, in, or through North Korea, according to the US State Department.