Tourist on Beach Vacation in North Korea: "Everything was Perfect, They Sell Plastic Missiles"
We're a long way from Palavas-les-Flots, the Canary Islands, Mallorca, Crete, or Sardinia, all very popular summer spots. For those who love originality and a unique vacation atmosphere, a new destination has opened its doors this summer. It's very confidential since few tourists have been able to set foot there. If we mention Wonsan-Kalma, you might not immediately see the beach and fine sand. And yet! This curious seaside resort promises miles of beaches.
A tourist was among the first visitors this summer to this newly opened tourist zone in North Korea, one of the most closed countries on the planet. Although the visit was "strictly controlled, with guides and guards accompanying us," according to her, the tourist says she is delighted with this unusual vacation in this closed country. Her account, reported by the BBC, may give cause for concern, especially since Anastasia Samsonova is Russian, a country allied with the Pyongyang regime.
Russians were among the first (and only?) tourists to visit the place this summer. Our Russian tourist was won over. "The lounge chairs were brand new, everything was spotless," she says of the almost deserted beaches lined with white sand. "The entry into the water was very gentle, it was truly a beautiful beach." The brand-new Wonsan-Kalma resort, inaugurated on July 1, stretches over 4 km with hundreds of buildings, including hotels that can accommodate 20,000 people.
But foreign visitors are currently limited to a few groups of Russians. "When we walked down the street, they [the North Koreans] looked at us with great astonishment because the country has been closed for a long time," notes Anastasia Samsonova. The itinerary was fixed, "we couldn't deviate from it without permission from the North Korean authorities."
In addition to the beaches, tourists were able to sample local cuisine, often featuring meat with a sweet and sour sauce. According to Anastasia, travelers' favorite souvenirs were North Korean uniforms and astonishing plastic missile replicas in the form of statuettes sold for $40 each, as the complex is located near a missile testing site.
The Wonsan-Kalma area is a flagship project of leader Kim Jong-un to develop tourism. Inspired by the Spanish resort of Benidorm, visited by a North Korean delegation in 2017, the complex includes hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, and a water park. However, its construction has been shrouded in secrecy, and NGOs have denounced the harsh working conditions imposed on workers, including forced labor, according to the BBC.
Despite the gradual reopening to foreign visitors post-Covid, North Korea is tightly restricting access to the site, fearing, according to experts, that its citizens will compare themselves unfavorably to tourists. So, it's unlikely you'll find an advertisement in your inbox extolling the virtues of Wonsan-Kalma anytime soon...
L'Internaute
