The term hermit kingdom is an epithet used to refer to any country, organization or society that willfully isolate itself off, either metaphorically or physically, from the rest of the world.
[1][2] Korea, which had become increasingly isolationist since the 17th century, was frequently described as a hermit kingdom until 1905, when it became a protectorate of Japan.
[1][3] During the Cold War, Enver Hoxha's Albania was widely considered a "hermit kingdom" as it was a Stalinist regime, did not allow ordinary citizens out of the country, and pursued autarky to become entirely self-sufficient.
Unlike North Korea, Hoxha's regime, after the Sino-Albanian split, refused to ally with anyone and was hostile towards the entire world, which made it more isolationist than North Korea, which was then Stalinist but was allied with other Eastern Bloc states and did not become isolationist until after the end of the Cold War.
[6] Other current countries considered isolationist "hermit kingdoms" include Turkmenistan,[7][8] Belarus,[9][10] Eritrea,[11] and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.