Tourism in North Korea
[8] The Ryugyong Hotel and leisure center was less fortunate: started in 1987, its construction was halted in 1992 because of the country's economic crisis in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
[14] In 2001, North Korea established formal ties with Spain and sent a diplomatic mission to the UNWTO headquarters in Madrid, to gain knowledge and develop connections.
[4] Following this, North Korea has pursued the construction of tourism infrastructure in recent years:[15] the Masikryong Ski Resort and the Yangdok Hot Spring Cultural Recreation Center were opened[8] in 2013 and 2019 respectively.
[12] The long-stalled and long-deserted Wonsan-Kalma beach resort (Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone or Area) on the east coast, started in 2018, is likely to open in May 2025: its achievement has been prioritized even above rebuilding areas damaged by flooding in the northern part of the country;[4][13] its size suggests that it has been planned with Chinese tourists in mind.
[10] In 2016, linked with Make It Happen agency, it started receiving volunteer teachers for 1-week or 2-weeks engagements, to teach English and Chinese.
[14] The government also seeks to develop other types of tourism besides the basic sight-seeing of national landmarks such as Panmunjom (where the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War was signed), Kaesong or Nampo special cities.
Moreover, tourists are kept away from experiencing or witnessing the way most citizens live day-to-day, and are particularly kept away from any negative experiences, meaning they return with false perceptions of the reality in North Korea.
[21][23][c] As of January 2013[update], foreigners can buy SIM cards at Pyongyang airport,[25] providing access to international calling.
[26] As North Koreans are severely punished for making (or receiving) international calls, watching any foreign programs, videos, etc., visitors put local people at very high risk by merely showing them, let alone lending them, their own mobile phones, iPods and other similar devices.
USB drives, CDs, DVDs, tablets, laptops, smartphones, digital cameras, and other electronic devices are thoroughly investigated by customs officers upon arrival.
Exchanging currencies is difficult; visitors cannot use ATMs, traveller's cheques, or debit and credit cards and are advised to take enough foreign cash for their trip in small denominations.
There is very little tolerance for what the government considers as disruptive behaviour, and this can lead to long term imprisonment, hard labour or death (see Otto Warmbier).
Women are required to wear long trousers or a skirt/dress that comes down under the knees; open dress shoes and sneakers are fine but not flip flops or sandals.
Adopted on 18 January 2023, the Pyongyang Cultural Language Protection Act criminalises South Korean vernacular; possible sanctions include the death penalty.
While tourists have historically been restricted to Pyongyang, some tours[41] have recently been able to expand to other parts of the country such as Rajin (and the market there) and Chongjin.
[47] In 2016, an American college student, Otto Warmbier, was arrested on a charge of taking a propaganda poster from a wall in his Pyongyang hotel, and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment.
[50] In July 2017, the U.S. government announced that U.S. citizens would no longer be permitted to visit North Korea as tourists (passports are declared invalid for such travel to, in, or through the country).
[58] When tours had not resumed by May 2010, North Korea unilaterally announced that it would seize South Korean real estate assets in the region.
Kaesong was opened to daily tours for South Korean and foreign tourists in December 2007; North Korea charged US $180 for a one-day trip.
[60] The tours to Kaesong were suspended in December 2008 due to a political conflict between North and South Korea relating to propaganda balloons.
[65] In 2012, 237,000 Chinese tourists visited North Korea;[1] they were more than 350,000 in 2019 - the most ever, bringing in around $175 million that year, with China responsible for roughly 95% of that total.
[8] Various places are accessible from the Chinese side, such as Namyang and monasteries in Chilbosan (North Hamgyong, N. Korea) from Tumen (Jilin, China).
[22] Before 2010,[72] tourists holding United States passports were not granted visas, except during the Arirang Festival mass games.
[69] Only citizens of Singapore and Malaysia were allowed to enter North Korea on normal passports without a visa; but these exemptions were revoked for both nationalities in February 2017.
[78] In July 2023, Russian and Chinese delegations were the first known foreign groups to be invited to the country since the borders were closed in January 2020; they went to Pyongyang for the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice.
[79] Around August 16, 2023, two busloads from North Korea crossed the Yalu River bordering China, disembarking in the Chinese city of Dandong.
In February and March 2024 altogether, three groups totalling more than 200 Russian tourists were allowed to spend time in North Korea.
[15] On August 14, 2024, the government announced its intent to open the country’s borders for international tourism after almost 5 years, beginning in December 2024 with the recently redeveloped city of Samjiyŏn, popular for its winter sports facilities and close proximity to Mount Paektu.
[77][82] From February to early September 2024, about 600 Russian tourists have visited North Korea, mainly the capital Pyongyang, and the special city of Rason on the east coast near Russia.
