The North Korean government of Kim Jong-un is planning a Mediterranean ‘costa’ -style beach resort, taking its inspiration from emblematic tourism hotspots in Spain, including Benidorm a
The North Korean government of Kim Jong-un is planning a Mediterranean ‘costa’ -style beach resort, taking its inspiration from emblematic tourism hotspots in Spain, including Benidorm and Salou.
A delegation of 20 officials from the ultra-secretive state enjoyed a fact-finding road trip earlier this month from the French border through Barcelona and Valencia to Alicante, seeking inspiration as North Korea plans its own large beach resort in Wonsan, a port city on the country’s eastern coast.
According to a spokesman for the North Korean embassy in Madrid, the delegation was “amazed by the dimensions” of Benidorm’s towers and holiday parks, but added that the Marina d’Or enclosed tourism complex in Oropesa del Mar was the closest match to their plans in Wonsan, “aimed at the domestic and international markets”.
The delegation breezed through Barcelona, showing no interest in the architectural wonders of Antoni Gaudí or the famous Rambla boulevard.
“We wanted to focus on the beaches because that is what we are interested in, ” the embassy spokesman said.
The delegation was, however, captivated by the Benidorm history-based theme park Terra Mítica, suggesting that Wonsan may one day boast an amusement park showing how North Korea evolved to perfection on the shoulders of its Asian forerunners.
“They loved the recreation of the various ancient Mediterranean civilisations. It would be very interesting to apply that concept in our theme park, maybe with Asian civilisations, ” the embassy said.
In Benidorm, as well as visiting the resort’s towering hotel buildings, the group went to a local campsite, where they left some clues about the kind of accommodation North Koreans may be using when the Wonsan complex is ready.
“They asked many detailed questions about the costs of each element in the campsite, ” Matías Pérez Such, an organiser of the trip, told the online newspaper El Confidencial.
“If they want to develop tourism, it’s logical that they start from the bottom up with campsites and not 55-floor hotels. But it’s positive that they want to stop being the most hermetic country in the world, ” Mr Pérez Such added. “Tourism breaks down barriers.”
But North Korea’s plans to increase the number of foreign visitors to the country from just over 100,000 to an annual one million were jolted by the recent death of Otto Warmbier, a US visitor who was imprisoned after admitting stealing a propaganda poster and then mysteriously slipping into a coma after his 2016 trial in Pyongyang.
Two days after Mr Warmbier had died on June 13 having been sent home to the United States in irretrievably bad health, North Korea’s ambassador to Spain spoke in Madrid of the country’s great potential as a prime tourism destination.
“They say it’s difficult to travel to our country, but this is not true. You can get a visa in less than a month, ” said Ambassador Kim Hyok-chol.
At the embassy event, the secretary-general of the UN’s World Tourism Organization, Taleb Rifai, said he had recently visited North Korea and been impressed by the experience, commenting: “I have never met such welcoming people.”
But remarks by Ambassador Kim underscored the fact that North Korea is still far from a normal holiday destination.
“If you want to eat in a Pyongyang restaurant, you can go on your own. But if you want to visit places beyond that, you will be accompanied. So far, this has been the safest and most comfortable way to visit the country.”
