April 17, 2024

North Korean Holiday


North Korean Holiday
Wŏnsan Beach, North Korea. (stephan), CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

North Korea is building a "tourist zone" on its eastern coast, a move to boost interest in tourism from Russia.

This area will have dozens of hotels and shops, all currently under construction, with the intention of opening in the next few years. Summer visitors will head to oceanside resorts, and, in the winter, Russian skiers can hit the slopes.

Of course, these vacations will not resemble the average Russian's trip to a domestic resort: These vacations in North Korea will still be highly controlled propaganda tours, albeit this time on Kim Jong Un's favorite beaches. 

The West has gotten glimpses of North Korean life on short tours starting in the Demilitarized Zone, the border with South Korea, but these tours, for intrepid, curious travelers, would not likely be described as "relaxing."

The new resorts, exclusively aimed toward Russians, aim to take advantage of the unusually close relationship between the Russian Federation and DPRK. "Test" tours began in February of this year, and hosted visitors primarily from far eastern regions of Russia, including Khabarovsk and Primorsky regions, the Sakhalin islands, Irkutsk, and Novosibirsk.

Even as visa travel to most of Western Europe continues to be a challenge for most Russians since the invasion of Ukraine, it remains to be seen whether North Korea will become a new vacation hotspot.  

You Might Also Like

Long, Long Repair
  • December 17, 2023

Long, Long Repair

It can take up to a year to get auto parts in Russia, due to Western sanctions.
Who “Discovered” Sakhalin?
  • October 03, 2013

Who “Discovered” Sakhalin?

You think planting a flag on a piece of land makes you own it? Think again! With Sakhalin, it was just one step in the long back-and-forth between Russia and Japan.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Steppe / Степь

Steppe / Степь

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
The Little Humpbacked Horse

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955