North Korea, which has long been one of the least accessible tourism destinations in the world and has been completely closed to leisure visits since the pandemic, is looking for visitors again, at least in one area.
Two Beijing-based operators who have specialized in the past in North Korea tours say they’ve been told by Korean officials that tourism will resume to the area of Samijyon, the gateway city for the Mt Paektu area, where Korean officials have poured funds to build up a huge vacation area with hotels, ski resorts and more in the area where they say the late Kim Jong Il was born.
Simon Cockerell of Koryo Tours told AFP that “Our initial reaction is positive of course. It’s been a long wait. Demand has been strong throughout the closure so I would expect a decent rebound.” He said “there are a lot of folks who have been anxious and keen” to visit.
Cockerell did add that “Doing it in the far north in the middle of winter is idiosyncratic, but the DPRK is nothing if not an idiosyncratic place.”
The other agency, KGT Tours, got the same notification, and says it also expects to hear soon that other areas, including the capital of Pyongyang may open as well.
