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My trip to North Korea's 'Benidorm' - flanked by guards and full of rules
My trip to North Korea's 'Benidorm' - flanked by guards and full of rules
It was the security guards accompanying Anastasia Samsonova's group that suggested this wasn't a typical beach holiday.
In July, the 33-year-old human resources worker was one of the first tourists to stay at a new holiday resort in North Korea, a country largely closed to the outside world.
Set in an exclusive area on the east coast where leader Kim Jong Un spent much of his youth, the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone opened on 1 July.
Built near a missile testing site, the resort features hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and a water park, according to state media.
But while it was initially billed as being open to international tourists, so far only Russians, entering in groups and organised by accredited travel agencies, have been allowed in.
Anastasia travelled there last month with 14 other people. The visit was tightly controlled, with guides and guards accompanying them and a fixed itinerary that could not be diverged from without permission from North Korean authorities.
She says the guides told her the guards were needed to "prevent situations where we interacted with locals and startled them".
"When we walked down the street, they [North Koreans] looked at us with great surprise because the country has been closed for a very long time," says Anastasia.
BBC News Russian got in contact with her after searching the geotags of people on social media who had travelled to the resort, independently of any travel agency or media outlet.
Anastasia says her group was also told not to photograph construction sites and was expected not to wear revealing clothes.
Yet despite the restrictions, she says she "enjoyed a vacation without people" on almost-empty beaches with white sand.
"Every day the [beach] was cleaned and levelled perfectly. Everything was immaculate," she says.
The loungers were absolutely new, everything spotless. The entrance to the sea was very gentle, so yes, it really was a very good beach.
Since the Covid pandemic, international tourism into North Korea had been on pause to prevent the spread of the virus.
But last year, the republic began allowing Russian tourists to visit again.
In February, it also started receiving tourists from the West, including Australia, France, Germany and the UK, though it abruptly halted this weeks later, without saying why.
Wonsan Kalma has been touted as a key part of Kim's ambitions to boost tourism in the country.
It is said to have drawn inspiration from Spain's tourism hotspot Benidorm, where a North Korean delegation was sent on a fact-finding mission in 2017.
But details of how it was built have been shrouded in secrecy, and human rights groups have criticised the alleged harsh treatment of workers.
Weeks after it opened, North Korea announced that foreigners were "temporarily" not allowed to visit - except tourists from Russia, an ally of the republic.
So far, two Russian tour groups have visited the resort, with another currently there.
A week-long trip from Russia to North Korea, including three days at the Wonsan Kalma resort, costs $1,800 (£1,300) - 60% more than the average monthly salary in Russia.
Some adverts for the trip even reference the nearby missile testing site, describing it as a "unique" vacation spot.
Anastasia says no missiles were launched while she was there, but toy rockets were being sold nearby for $40 (£30).
Describing a typical day while on her trip, Anastasia says the group would have breakfast at 08:00 when lots of activities were planned and 09:30 on a more relaxed day.
In terms of the food they were given, there was "lots of meat", typically in sweet and sour sauce, and a dish involving finely-chopped cabbage and carrots in sauce.
She says a 500ml bottle of beer was very cheap, costing about 60 cents at the beach, while the souvenir of choice for tourists was North Korean Olympic clothing.
Another tourist, Daria, writing on Instagram, described the resort as "very raw" and "not the kind of vacation Russian tourists are used to".
"But if you're tired of Asia, Turkey, etc., and want something exotic — this is it," she added.
However, there is uncertainty over when the next Russian tourists will be allowed into Wonsan Kalma.
The travel agency which organised the first three trips to the resort, Vostok Intur, said there was high interest in potential tours in September, but North Korean authorities had yet to agree to them.
Initially, tours were advertised online by Russian travel agencies for mid-September, but these were later removed.
It is not just Russians who face difficulties getting to Wonsan Kalma.
Even citizens of China, which borders North Korea and is its main ally and economic partner, are having difficulties accessing the resort, according to Andrei Lankov, an expert in North Korea-Russia relations and a professor at Kookmin University in Seoul.
He says Pyongyang deliberately limits the number of tourists and closely controls their movements, in part so North Koreans won't compare themselves unfavourably to richer foreigners.
"Ordinary people might begin to wonder, 'How is it that even without our great leader, or his son or daughter, they seem to live so well?'", Lankov says.
For that reason, North Korea has concluded it's largely better not to have too many foreigners entering the country, he adds.
With travel restrictions into North Korea easing, tourism from Russia has been rising, though it remains modest compared with other destinations.
In 2024, about 1,500 Russians travelled to North Korea for tourism, according to Russia's Federal Security Service border guards.
In contrast, more than 6.7 million visited Turkey and almost 1.9 million went to China.
However, in the second quarter of 2025, 1,673 Russians entered North Korea as tourists – a level last seen in 2010, before tourist restrictions were introduced.
Wonsan Kalma is seen as key to reviving North Korea's ailing economic fortunes, but it's not been without controversy.
Since the resort began construction in 2018, human rights groups have protested the alleged mistreatment of its workers. They point to reports of people being forced to work long hours to finish the massive project under harsh conditions and inadequate compensation.
The BBC has approached the North Korean embassy in London for comment.
Despite the challenges of getting to Wonsan Kalma, and the restrictions on what Russian tourists can do when they arrive in North Korea, Anastasia says she hopes to come back next year.
"We're actually thinking about gathering the whole group next year to go to the same place.
I'm not sure if it will work out, but I've heard there's also a ski resort near Wonsan Kalma. So, maybe one day I'll visit that resort too.
Source: BBC
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