A massive tourist city has been built on North Korea‘s eastern coast: the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone. Long pursued by the Kim Jong Un regime, the project opened in July 2025. Boasting large-scale accommodations capable of hosting around 20,000 people, beaches, water parks, and commercial and convenience facilities, Pyongyang heavily promoted the area as a world-class tourist destination. Yet, one year later, one cannot help but ask: Who is North Korea waiting for?
Wonsan-Kalma was developed not as a domestic vacation spot for its own citizens, but from the start as a core facility to attract foreign tourists and earn hard currency. For a North Korea bound by international economic sanctions, tourism represents a relatively accessible industry for securing foreign revenue. The problem, however, is that building tourist facilities and actually bringing in tourists are entirely different challenges.
