A Vision Realized: The Wonsan Kalma Beach Resort
Located in Wonsan, a coastal city historically known for its strategic military importance and more recently, for its personal significance to Kim Jong-un, the Wonsan Kalma Beach Resort is one of the most ambitious leisure developments in North Korea’s modern history. Stretching across a vast beachfront, the resort includes luxury hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, and even a water park—amenities rarely associated with the rigid, austere image of North Korean society.
Originally announced in 2013, the project was expected to be completed by 2019, but repeated construction delays pushed its opening back several times. Finally, in July 2025, the doors of the resort are set to open—though only to domestic tourists at first. Access for foreign tourists remains uncertain, due to a combination of ongoing international sanctions, tight state control over information and people, and geopolitical caution.
The resort’s capacity of 20,000 visitors is massive by North Korean standards. Currently, tourism in the country is strictly controlled and relatively rare, even for citizens. The average North Korean has little exposure to commercial travel, and leisure trips—especially to high-end resorts—are generally reserved for the elite or those deemed politically reliable. The opening of Wonsan Kalma, therefore, raises several intriguing questions: Who is the resort truly for? And what is its ultimate purpose?