A group of Russian tourists who became the first international holidaymakers to visit North Korea have lifted the lid on their experience in the world’s most mysterious state. The Wonsan-Kalma resort, which caters for almost 20,000 visitors and includes hotels, restaurants and a beach, was heralded by Kim Jong Un as “the proud first step” towards a booming tourism industry when it opened in June. During its first few months of operation, however, the coastal spot could only be enjoyed by North Koreans, with the country’s tourism authority confirming that it was “temporarily not receiving foreign tourists”.
This week, the famously secretive country has opened the complex to its first horde of international holidaymakers, however, welcoming a small group of Russian tourists – with travellers from all other countries still subject to an indefinite ban. While North Korea’s reputation as an oppressive and totalitarian dictatorship may not easily mesh with the idea of a Benidorm-style holiday destination for many, one Russian tourist was pleasantly surprised by her trip.
“We saw nothing terrible there, there is no danger there,” Anastasiya Samsonova, a 33-year-old HR manager, told Sky News. “Frankly speaking, we really liked it.
“The hotel was absolutely new. Everything was done very beautifully, a good interior…Very developed infrastructure.”
Despite the country’s documented history of horrific human rights abuses and network of gulags, earning it global condemnation for all but eradicating free speech, Anastasiya said she felt free to move and behave as she wanted during her holiday.
“We were interested in seeing how people live there,” she explained. “There were a lot of prejudices about what you can and can’t do in North Korea, how you can behave. But actually, we felt absolutely free.”
North Korea’s warm reception of Russian holidaymakers comes amid a closening relationship between the two countries after they signed a strategic partnership treaty in June 2024.
Kim Jong Un has also provided significant miltiary support for Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, with the Supreme Leader pledging “unconditional support” for Vladimir Putin’s operations in the region this month, after around 10,000 North Korean soldiers had already been dispatched to the frontline.
The arrival of the first few Russian tourists coincided with the launch of direct passenger flights between Moscow and Pyongyang for the first time in decades this month – with one tour guide suggesting that North Korea’s strict communist rule appealed to visitors nostalgic for the Soviet Union.
“North Korea is an amazing country, unlike any other in the world,” Irina Kobeleva, director of the Vostok Intur travel agency, said. “It is a country where you will not see any advertising on the streets. And it is very clean – even the asphalt is washed.
“Our tourists are mostly older people who want to return to the USSR, because there is a feeling that the real North Korea is very similar to what was once in the Soviet Union. But at the same time, there is a huge growing demand around young people.”