North Korea’s brand new luxury holiday resort has been opened – but the only tourists allowed to visit are Russian and one woman has shared her thoughts after staying at the complex
A woman has shared her thoughts on North Korea’s ‘luxury’ beach resort that has been modelled off Benidorm.
The whopping Wonsan Kalma resort has capacity to hold around 20,000 guests, but all tourists except those from Russia have been banned from visiting. The new complex features a giant artificial white sand beach – once a missile test site – on the Sea of Japan, and was opened by Kim Jong Un himself.
However Russian guests who have visited have claimed the were ‘followed’ everywhere and believe there was a possibility their phones were bugged while visiting.
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Russian blogger Daria Zubkova visited the resort as one of the first tourists and shared her thoughts on her visit to the secret holiday destination.
The veterinary assistant had travelled from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok in Russia and then to Pyongyang and revealed how she wasn’t left alone during her trip: “Even on the beach, there was someone walking with us, but it didn’t look like some kind of convoy, it looked more like sweet concern, they’re walking, they’ll chat with you, they’ll just walk behind you, that is, they’ll argue somehow that we’re worried about you getting lost or something.’
Yet apparently this is out of “concern” for guests rather than snooping and Daria said most people are afraid of “wiretapping everywhere”, but noted how she wasn’t afraid as she didn’t have anything to hide. However she managed to leave her room at 2am and walk along the beach alone and said there were “no problems”.
The huge resort also features over 40 hotels, guesthouses, and leisure facilities and as for the cuisine, Daria revealed there was a selection of places to eat at the retreat and she was served a range of different dishes that they “adapted to our interests” and “always wanted to surprise us” including a wide selection of meat available.
Daria also noted how there was “very cool infrastructure” surrounding the hotel, and said there were new houses and new buildings all around with “good decoration”.
The basic cost of this tour for Russians is £1,360 – once they have made their way to Vladivostok. All but £325 of this has to be paid in cash.
Other tourists have also claimed they were told sending emails cost £1.65 each and the tour company made clear that the secret police would have the opportunity to monitor their messages – and they would be sent from the hotel’s email box rather than their own.
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