Since taking power in 2012, Kim Jong-un has poured massive investment into developing major tourist destinations to attract foreign visitors — with nothing to show for it in return. The flagship Samjiyon tourist zone near Mount Paektu, completed just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, never received the foreign visitors it was built for. The Wonsan beach resort, which opened last year, appears to have drawn only a small number of Russians, with essentially no other foreign tourists. Now, domestic travel packages to these sites have begun going on sale. A reporting partner in North Hamgyong Province passed along this news in early February. (HONG Mari / KANG Jiwon)
◆ Kim Jong-un, the "Resort Superfan," Has Built One Luxury Tourist Facility After Another — To Little Effect
Starting with the construction of the Masikryong ski resort in Kangwon Province in 2013, Kim Jong-un has invested enormous sums in tourism development: the Samjiyon tourist zone near Mount Paektu (Ryanggang Province), the Yangdok hot spring resort (South Pyongan Province), and the Wonsan Kalma beach resort (Kangwon Province). But when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, the expected influx of foreign tourists never materialized, and these facilities have effectively become little more than propaganda showpieces.
The Samjiyon resort in particular — completed in December 2019 and promoted by Kim Jong-un himself as a "world-class international tourist zone" — has yet to receive a single Chinese tourist. The return on investment so far is almost certainly zero.
Despite this, five luxury hotels in the Samjiyon tourist zone were simultaneously completed in December 2025. The reporting partner recently described the latest domestic developments:
"Because tourists aren't coming from abroad and the facilities aren't making money, the party has reportedly issued instructions to open them up to anyone willing to pay. Various travel packages are now being traded — Paektu Mountain, Samjiyon, Yangdok hot springs, Pyongyang sightseeing tours, and others. In the past, visits were given by the Workers' Party as rewards to specially selected workers — those recognized for outstanding performance — or to discharged soldiers. But recently, admission tickets and bundled-use passes have started going on sale."
◆ Three-Night Hot Spring Stay with Meals Starting at Around 350,000 Won
The apparent aim is to open these propaganda-tinged resorts and leisure facilities to ordinary residents and recoup at least some operating costs. How exactly are the packages being sold?
According to the reporting partner, the facilities initially gave out use vouchers as a bonus to people who opened bank savings accounts, took out insurance policies, or purchased mobile phones.
More recently, three-night hot spring sanatorium stays including meals have been going on sale starting at 350,000 won (approximately $8.97). It appears that travel packages have been turned into coupon-style products now available for purchase.
* 10,000 North Korean won = USD $0.26 (as of mid-February)
However, ordinary workers at enterprises and factories currently earn only around 35,000 to 50,000 won per month — equivalent to roughly 0.9 to 1.3 USD. With the government strictly regulating private economic activity and individual commerce, supplementary income is essentially out of reach. For ordinary citizens, a leisure trip remains a distant dream.
