Adapted by:
Miguel Jorge
WriterJournalist. I've spent more than half of my life writing about technology, science, and culture. Before landing here, I worked at Telefónica, Prisa, Globus Comunicación, Hipertextual, and Gizmodo. I'm part of Webedia's cross-section team.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
In October 2024, Pyongyang confirmed what many had suspected: It was building its own version of Cabo San Lucas. As global tourism fuels economies, North Korea is racing to join the club. The country’s most ambitious tourism development to date is now nearing completion, but with tens of thousands of hotel rooms ready to open, one question looms large: Who will actually stay there?
A resort like no other. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s tourism megaproject on the Kalma Peninsula, located on the country’s east coast, aims to become one of the world’s largest vacation hubs.
The Wonsan-Kalma resort, designed entirely from scratch, has been described by analysts as the most significant tourism initiative ever promoted by the regime. Initial estimates suggest it could hold between 7,000 and 20,000 rooms, though the precise number is unclear due to limited transparency from the state.
Originally announced in 2014, the project has faced numerous setbacks due to international sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic. But with a June 2025 opening date on the calendar, North Korea has begun quietly reopening to foreign visitors. Whether the resort can attract enough tourists to justify its scale, however, is another matter.
Tourism as strategy. The Kalma resort is more than just a vacation destination. Kim sees it as a source of hard currency, a tool for internal prestige, and a global showpiece. Analysts such as Bruce W. Bennett and Marcus Noland have expressed skepticism that the enclave will ever see a meaningful flow of foreign tourists.
The project’s original logic likely involved attracting South Korean visitors—close, wealthy, and culturally curious. But given the frozen diplomatic relations between the two Koreas, this is essentially a nonstarter. Meanwhile, Russian travel agencies have begun offering package deals for residents of Vladivostok, yet even those efforts are drawing limited interest. According to the agencies themselves, most Russians still prefer traditional destinations like Thailand or Dubai.
Domestic use and control. Lacking international appeal, Pyongyang may repurpose the resort for domestic consumption. According to Business Insider, North Korea could use Kalma as a reward system for model citizens or loyal workers, offering vacations as a privilege within the rigid class system. The complex includes zones specifically designed for elite delegations and presidential use, reinforcing the idea that the resort may serve more as a political apparatus than a commercial enterprise.
However, security remains a major concern. Bennett notes that authorities plan to keep North Korean citizens and foreign guests strictly separated to prevent unwanted interactions. This controlled environment echoes other regime projects—like the small Manhattan it recently unveiled—which serve more to impress than to function.
Endemic obstacles. Despite the regime’s massive investment, Kalma faces familiar challenges. North Korea has little experience in international hospitality, and its strict information controls are fundamentally at odds with the freewheeling nature of modern tourism.
The ghost of the Ryugyong Hotel—a towering, unfinished monument to excess in Pyongyang—still looms over the country’s tourism ambitions. Though Kalma may open on schedule, it risks becoming another high-profile but hollow venture. Tourists require more than beachfront property, they expect service, access, freedom, and connectivity—all things North Korea struggles to provide.
A tool for diplomacy? Beyond economics, Kalma may serve a symbolic purpose. In 2018, President Donald Trump encouraged Kim to develop North Korea’s coastline for tourism, citing its “great beaches.” It’s plausible that the resort could be used in future negotiations as a sign of modernization or as leverage for diplomatic recognition, especially in nuclear talks.
Already, North Korea has positioned itself as a “resort” for Russian soldiers. In this light, Kalma can shift from promise to treat: It might symbolize openness to the world or reinforce the regime’s internal control. Either way, Kim appears determined to distinguish himself from his predecessors. His version of Cabo San Lucas may never become a true vacation hotspot—but it might just become one of the world’s strangest political statements.
Image | Clay Gilliland
View 0 comments