In a landmark moment in diplomatic history, President Donald Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2018 aimed to envision a brighter future for North Korea. Trump’s remarks, highlighting the potential for luxury resorts along the pristine beaches of North Korea, showcased his belief in a diplomatic path away from nuclear discussions. “Instead of doing that,” he quipped about the North’s missile tests, “you could have the best hotels in the world right there.” While the nuclear negotiations ultimately faltered, Trump’s vision has found unexpected momentum with the recent opening of a lavish resort in Wonsan.
Located on the eastern seaboard, the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area sprawls across a 2.5-mile stretch of the Kalma Peninsula. North Korean state media boasts that the area features around 400 buildings, including high-rise hotels and villas, capable of hosting about 20,000 guests. The resort complex isn’t just about high-end accommodations; it offers a variety of cultural and commercial amenities: a water park, gym, concert hall, diverse dining options, an auto shop, and even a department store, making it a self-contained population hub.
“A World Destination”
Amidst this development, it’s important to note that Wonsan has not shed its military significance. Just this past May, North Korea conducted missile tests in the same city. Despite Kim Jong Un’s aspirations to turn Wonsan into a “world destination,” current indications suggest that the resort may not be accessible to international travelers anytime soon. Since ascending to power, Kim has sought to bolster the tourism sector as a means to revitalize the struggling economy under international sanctions. Tourism remains one of the scant legitimate avenues for North Korea to earn foreign currency.
However, these efforts are complicated by ongoing military pursuits and increasing international isolation. The Kalma resort project itself exemplifies the challenges faced; its construction took nearly a decade amid a backdrop of sanctions and the pandemic. Originally slated for completion in 2018, construction timelines saw multiple delays, with the resort finally starting to welcome domestic tourists not long ago. Whether this influx can generate the economic activity that the regime hopes for remains uncertain, as restrictive measures and widespread poverty plague the nation, with about 60% of the population estimated to live in poverty.
While the resort now hosts North Korean tourists, the return of foreign travelers is still not on the horizon. Earlier this year, North Korea briefly allowed a small group of Western tourists—marking the first such entry since the onset of the COVID pandemic in 2020—but this was followed by a sudden withdrawal of access without explanation. Pre-pandemic, Chinese tourists constituted the majority of foreign visitors, yet their return is yet to be realized, cast into uncertainty by geopolitical tensions.
Will Russians Come?
Russian tourists, however, might be the first to explore the new resort, as North Korea has intensified collaboration with Russia following a mutual defense agreement reached in 2024. During the opening ceremony of the resort, Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Matsegora was present as a special guest, signaling the importance of Russian tourism in North Korea’s strategy going forward. Reports indicate that the first group of Russian tourists is set to visit in the coming week.
Despite these moves toward revitalizing the tourist sector, data reveals that only about 900 Russians ventured to North Korea for leisure in 2024, a stark contrast to the hundreds of thousands of Chinese visitors who flocked to the country annually before the pandemic. Researcher Lee Sangkeun from the Institute for National Security Strategy in Seoul notes that many potential visitors from major Russian cities may find North Korea off-putting due to restrictive travel conditions, inefficiencies in infrastructure, and unstable political circumstances.
In the midst of these developments, Kim Jong Un remains optimistic, asserting the “diverse and rich tourism resources and unique political stability and institutional durability” of North Korea. He has promised that the lessons learned from the Kalma project will pave the way for additional large-scale tourist ventures, marking North Korea’s ongoing efforts to intertwine economic growth with its longstanding military ambitions.
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