North Korea's new ‘Benidorm' resort mysteriously BANS foreign tourists days after opening – following years of delays
Dubbed the "North Korean Benidorm", Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone was supposed to spearhead Kim Jong-un's drive to boost international tourism - but the fun is over already.
13
13
13
The Costa del Sol-inspired resort - complete with beaches, waterparks and a strip - had been promoted to international tourism markets.
Wonsan threw open its doors to much fanfare on July 1, with footage showing Kim beaming in front of jack-rabbiting crowds and sitting back watch "volunteers" fly down waterslides.
But then a notice popped up on the national tourism website slapping a "temporary" ban on all overseas visitors.
According to state-run North Korean news, a group of 15 Russian holidaymakers rocked up last week - around the same time Russia's Foreign Minster Sergei Lavrov visited Kim in Wonsan.
Lavrov heaped praise on the "good tourist attraction" and said he hoped it would become a popular hols spot for Russians.
NK News said the Russians had been "wowed" by "lavish ten-dish meals", "eerily good service" and "endless beaches".
Other eager Russians will no doubt be disappointed to miss out on this mind-boggling experience.
And a Russian tour guide previously told NK News that they had planned several more trips to the resort in the coming months - but not anymore.
The chance of other international travellers being permitted a peak behind the curtain is looking evermore remote.
Hundreds of Brits put their name down when a travel firm, On The Beach, set up a page for people to express their interest in visiting Wonsan.
Kim Jong Un sheds tears over North Korean troops killed in Ukraine
The city is where Kim spent much of his youth, among holiday villas, maritime infrastructure - and missile facilities.
The dictator oversaw the project himself, and was reportedly inspired by the way Europeans choose to holiday in countries like Spain.
He is even said to have dispatched a team to the Costa del Sol to take notes and report back.
The result is a 2.5-mile stretch of beachfront lined with restaurants, hotels for 20,000 people, shopping malls and water park.
13
13
13
13
Kim has proudly inspected the construction project several times over the years - and returned at the end of June for a bizarre opening ceremony.
And declared that the completed project would go down as 'one of the greatest successes this year' and hailed the site as 'the proud first step' towards a thriving tourism industry.
But the work did not always go according to plan - and was repeatedly stalled by a range of problems.
At one point, the site was even overrun by homeless wanderers - known as "kotjebi" in North Korea - who filled the empty hotels with faeces.
13
13
13
If overseas visitors are ever allowed in, campaigners have warned that nobody's safety is assured.
Greg Scarlatoiu, director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, said a trip there would be unsafe and immoral.
He said: 'The Wonsan-Kalma resort was built with forced labour. Vacationing there is morally and ethically wrong – it is truly an abomination.
'Having Russian nationals vacation there is testament to the pathetic isolation of both Russia and North Korea.'
Past tourists in the country have even lost their lives.
Greg gave the example of Otto Warmbier, an American student arrested on dubious charges during a trip to Pyongyang in 2016.
Accused of taking down a propaganda poster, he was detained for 17 months.
13
13
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Hackers paralyse Russia's largest airline
A hacking group linked to Ukraine has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack that has crippled Russia's flagship airline, leading to travel chaos. Aeroflot, which is in the top 20 airlines worldwide by passenger numbers, said it had experienced disruption to its electronic systems, forcing it to delay and cancel dozens of flights. The Silent Crow and Cyber Partisans hacker groups claim to have been lurking in Aeroflot's systems for a year and have now carried out a 'large-scale operation' that led to the 'complete compromise and destruction' of Aeroflot's internal IT infrastructure. 'Glory to Ukraine! Long live Belarus!' said the statement, linking the cyberattack to the war. In a rare admission of vulnerability, the Kremlin said reports of a cyberattack against Aeroflot were 'worrying' and said it was waiting for further information. The hackers claimed on Telegram that they had infiltrated Aeroflot's computer network one year ago, allowing them to destroy 7,000 physical and virtual servers. They claim to have stolen flight history databases, hacked the personal computers of employees, and 'copied data from wiretapping servers', amounting to 12TB of data. 'All these resources are now inaccessible or destroyed, restoration will require, possibly, tens of millions of dollars. The damage is strategic,' the Silent Crow said in a statement published on Telegram. Aeroflot has not confirmed whether it is the victim of a cyberattack, saying in a statement that 'specialists are currently working to minimise the impact on the flight schedule and to restore normal service operations'. On Telegram, it listed more than 40 cancelled flights to destinations across Russia, as well as to the Belarusian capital Minsk and the Armenian capital Yerevan. In 2024, passenger traffic of the Aeroflot Group reached 55.3 million passengers, according to the airline's website. It comes at a time when Russian tourists are flocking back to Europe in their droves, despite the continent's hardline stance supporting Ukraine. Hotel stays by Russians in Italy and France surged by more than 19 per cent in the past year, which Ukrainian diplomats branded 'disturbing' and a security risk. The Silent Crow hackers previously claimed responsibility for hacking Russia's real estate agency, Rosreestr, which is responsible for managing property and land records. The group created a Telegram channel in December to announce the breach, releasing a portion of a database containing names, dates, phone numbers and email addresses of Russian citizens. The leak was later confirmed by Russian investigative journalists from the Agentstvo news outlet, though Rosreestr denied its systems were breached. Silent Crow's anonymity Unlike known Ukrainian hacktivist groups like the Ukrainian Cyber Alliance or IT Army, which openly align with Ukraine's interests and coordinate with its government, Silent Crow's anonymity and lack of prior activity had made attribution more difficult. Following the cyberattack against Russia's real estate database, there was no evidence linking the Silent Crows to Ukraine. However, the attack in December came just weeks after a Russian cyberattack targeted dozens of Ukrainian databases. The IT Army of Ukraine says it aligns with the Ukrainian government, saying it aims to bring Kyiv's victory closer 'by exhausting the economies of aggressor countries, disrupting the work of important financial, infrastructure, government services and the activities of large taxpayers'. Earlier this year, the IT Army claimed responsibility for hacking nearly 50 media websites in Kursk, which was invaded by the Ukrainian army last August. It also claimed responsibility for disruption to a transport payment app in St Petersburg, knocking the service online. 'Each day brings new goals, new victories,' the group said. 'We will carry our flag to the end.'
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Tourists told not to visit famous Spanish attraction amid overtourism crisis
The mayor of Brihuega, Spain, has urged tourists to avoid visiting the town's popular lavender fields at weekends due to severe overcrowding. Brihuega's 1,000-hectare lavender fields attract thousands of visitors, especially in July, boosting the local economy by millions of euros and increasing the town's population over the past decade. However, the influx of over 100,000 visitors in July alone has strained local services, causing significant traffic and parking issues in the small town. Mayor Lusi Viejo described a recent Saturday as the village "collapsing" and advised tourists to visit between Monday and Thursday for a more manageable experience. To address the issue, the town plans to implement a permanent park-and-ride scheme with shuttle buses, as they cannot limit visitor numbers or charge entry fees for the free-access fields.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Tourists warned to stay away from Instagrammable lavender fields in Spanish town at weekends
Tourists have been asked to stay away from Spain's famous lavender fields, known for producing eye-catching Instagram photos, at the weekends as the strain of the crowds is becoming too much to bear. The Spanish town of Brihuega attracts thousands of visitors each year, with many drawn by its picturesque lavender fields that span 1,000 hectares and serve as a stunning spot for social media photos. The area has become more popular over the past decade, with the influx of tourism helping to combat depopulation in the rural town. This time frame has seen a 24 per cent increase in residents and millions of euros brought in for the local economy. However, Brihuega is at risk of becoming a victim of its own success, as more and more tourists flock to the fields to pose among the sea of purple flowers, putting increased pressure on local services. More than 100,000 people visited the fields in July, the only month the flowers fully bloom, putting a strain on the closest small town, which has just under 3,000 residents. While the region recognises that the lavender fields play a vital part in its economy, Mayor Lusi Viejo has asked tourists if they could avoid visiting on the weekends. 'Take last Saturday, for example: the village collapsed. It was a hard time for me,' Mr Viejo told the Spanish national daily newspaper ABC, according to The Telegraph. 'We have a wide range of tourist, cultural and artistic offerings thanks to the lavender,' he said. 'But my advice is that people come and visit us between Monday and Thursday – please! Weekends are more difficult because of the huge quantity of people who come.' The main problem is overcrowding Brihuega's historic narrow streets, with parking becoming chaotic, especially during the blooming season. 'Ahead of next year, we need to build a park-and-ride parking lot on the outskirts of the historic centre and connect it with shuttle buses,' Mr Viejo said. In a recent letter to residents, Mr Viejo confirmed a permanent park-and-ride would be in place, complete with shuttle buses to try to make daily life easier for residents in the municipality. The mayor also explained that access to the field is free, so the village does not have the authority to limit visitor numbers or charge a tourist fee. Despite the issues created due to overwhelming crowds, the high number of tourists has brought in €8m for the local economy across the lavender season so far. 'Managing such an influx of visitors in such a short time is difficult. We work hard, we have a security committee, but it's still a large turnout,' the mayor said. Mr Viejo added that the challenge is to try to attract tourists all year round and spread out visitors, instead of seeing an influx in the summer for the lavender blooming. He said the council is working to promote visiting the fields of sumac in October and November, with the hillsides turning a deep red in the autumn season.
