According to Yonhap News, North Korea has completed the multi-year construction of a large-scale tourism project — the resort city “Wonsan-Kalma” in Kangwon Province. The official opening of this site is scheduled for June next year. The country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, personally visited the new tourist center.
Work on the project began back in 2014 but faced numerous challenges, including international sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to repeated delays. Initially, the project was planned to be completed by 2019, but only in 2024, after accelerating construction efforts, was it finally finished. The resort complex is located on a picturesque coastal strip of the Wonsan-Kalma Peninsula, including the famous “Mensa Sipni” beach zone with white sand.
Kim Jong Un called the new resort “a breathtaking work of art” and stated that the city meets the high standards necessary for hosting international events and political-cultural gatherings. He emphasized that the development of tourism is an important step in strengthening socialist culture and a significant component of the country’s economic strategy.
“The development of tourism will create a new chapter in building socialist culture,” the country’s leader noted.
North Korea is betting on tourism development as one of the few legal ways to attract foreign currency. The resort is expected to become popular among tourists from Russia, especially ahead of the summer season.
In the long term, the authorities plan to link the “Wonsan-Kalma” resort with the tourist zone in Kumgangsan and actively develop other tourist destinations, including mountain tourism in the Samjiyon area.
North Korea hopes that the opening of “Wonsan-Kalma” will become an important step in the development of tourism and contribute to improving the country’s economic situation.