The Kalma Peninsula Resort: Kim Jong-Un's Vision of Economic Revival
- Mar 19, 2025
- 2 min read
By: Julie Kim
When people think about travel destinations, North Korea is not a common choice. This is primarily because North Korea is not considered a safe country to visit, and the country does not easily allow visitors from other countries. However, starting in June 2025, visiting North Korea will become much easier for some.
North Korea is set to open the Kalma Peninsula Resort, located near the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, in June 2025, with great enthusiasm from Kim Jong Un. The project was launched in 2014 and was planned to be completed by April 2019. However, its completion was delayed due to COVID-19, resource shortages, and international sanctions.
The Kalma Peninsula Resort is situated just over 100 km northwest of the Mount Kumgang Tourist Region. Until 2008, Mount Kumkang was a famous destination before tours were suspended following the fatal shooting of a South Korean tourist. Both the Kalma Peninsula Resort and the Mount Kumgang Tourist Region are part of the six tourism districts open to international travellers.
The tourism infrastructure in the Kalma Peninsula Resort includes approximately 150 luxury hotels, casinos, golf courses, restaurants, and entertainment facilities, primarily targeting Russian visitors. Additionally, attractions have been developed along the 5-kilometer Myongsasimni Beach near Wonsan on the east coast, a site previously used for missile testing. A few other countries, including China and Canada, are also likely to have access.
The ultimate goal of launching this tourism initiative is to boost the country’s economic growth. Kim Jong Un describes this project as a “first big step” in advancing the country’s tourism sector, with the potential to generate foreign currency and contribute to national economic growth.
Jacob Bogle, a North Korea analyst from the United States, stated that the Kalma Peninsula Resort would likely be the largest single-owned resort in the world once completed. However, on February 19, 2023, he remarked, “All of the hotels and other buildings have been constructed, but work on finishing the exteriors – windows, paint, lighting – and interiors is nowhere near completed.”
Moreover, a newspaper based in South Korea reported, “The buildings are no different from toilets, with bowel movements left behind by the kkotjebi everywhere,” Criticisms of North Korea’s economic growth have also surfaced: according to a source from Kangwon province source, “Labour and money will be wasted on a project when nobody knows when it will open or if tourists will actually come.” The resort risks becoming a financial liability, rather than contributing to economic growth.
In brief, North Korea will become more accessible for travel enthusiasts once the Kalma Peninsula Resort
opens in 2025.
Works Cited
Jackson, W. (2025, January 8). “one single, Giant Complex”: North Korea to open “Tourist City” once
taken over by homeless. ABC News.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-09/north-korea-opening-huge-kalma-wonsan-beach-resort/1047922
70
RFA, T. K. for. (2025, February 25). North Korea says giant tourist beach resort to open in June 2025.
Radio Free Asia. https://www.rfa.org/english/korea/2024/12/31/north-korea-kalma-tourist-area/
Sanders, T. (2024, December 31). Inside Kim Jong-un’s sprawling new Coastal Resort. Metro.
Comments