After years of concrete, sanctions and international stand-offs, North Korea is officially opening a beach resort. Because who doesn’t want to see leader Kim Jong Un in speedos?
The Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone was slated for a 2019 debut but took longer to arrive than a tray of inflight meals to row 42. From 1 July, it’s finally opening to domestic tourists. International guests? I might not pack my bags just yet.
Where is Wonsan Kalma?
Wonsan Kalma is a four-kilometre stretch of sand on North Korea’s east coast, now lined with hotels, shops, restaurants and even a water park. According to state media outlet Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the complex can host up to 20,000 people. Those numbers, like much else in North Korea, remain unverified.
Construction kicked off in 2017 with a 2019 grand opening in mind, but delays pushed the ribbon-cutting ceremony back by six years, the BBC reported. The resort is now set to open exclusively to domestic tourists.
Why Wonsan?
Wonsan isn’t just any seaside town. It’s where Kim Jong Un reportedly spent part of his childhood, and it hosts villas used by the country’s elite. It was also once a missile testing site, which gives a whole new meaning to beachside redevelopment.
The opening was marked by a ceremony on 24 June attended by Kim, his daughter Kim Ju Ae, and his rarely seen wife Ri Sol Ju, whose appearance was her first in public since New Year’s Day. Also present: Russian ambassador Alexander Matsegora and embassy staff.
Is North Korea open for business?
Technically, yes. Practically, it’s complicated. Post COVID, North Korea only began easing restrictions in mid-2023. A brief opening in early 2024 allowed tourists from the UK, France, Germany and Australia to enter via China, but that access was abruptly cut off again weeks later with no explanation.
Currently, Russian nationals are the only known foreigners permitted into certain parts of the country. The recent reopening of a direct train route between Pyongyang and Moscow suggests that North Korea’s post-pandemic tourism revival may be more Moscow than Melbourne for now, Reuters reported.
Who’s this for, really?
Despite KCNA hailing the resort as a “great, auspicious event” and a “prelude to the new era” in tourism, international tour operators aren’t exactly rolling out the beach towels.
Rowan Beard, co-founder of Young Pioneer Tours, told the BBC he had hoped the resort might signal broader international access, but “unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case for now.”
Beard added that Wonsan is “unlikely to be a major draw for most Western tourists,” who tend to favour Pyongyang, the demilitarised zone (DMZ), and Cold War-era architecture over seaside resorts.
Elliott Davies, director of Uri Tours, sees it differently. “It’s intriguing to experience something as familiar as a beach resort that’s been shaped within the unique cultural context of North Korea,” he told the BBC.
With its economy under pressure from long-standing sanctions, North Korea may view tourism as one of the few non-controversial ways to earn foreign currency. But without a clear reopening to broader international markets, any financial windfall is likely to be modest.
KARRYON UNPACKS: While it has no immediate trade impact, this development may be worth watching for agents who deal in high-curiosity, off-the-map travel. And if Pyongyang ever does fully reopen, expect more than a few clients asking: “Can you actually go there?”
