North Korea, the new Benidorm of the east

Kim Jong-un is taking tips from Spanish hot spots in planning the country’s first resort for foreign tourists

THE North Korean government of Kim Jong-un is planning a Mediterranean “costa”-style beach resort, taking inspiration from emblematic tourism hot spots in Spain, such as Benidorm.

A delegation of 20 officials from the secretive state has enjoyed a fact-finding road trip from the French border through Barcelona and Valencia to Alicante, seeking inspiration as North Korea plans its own large beach resort in Wonsan, a port city on the country’s eastern coast.

According to a spokesman for the North Korean embassy in Madrid, the delegation was “amazed by the dimensions” of Benidorm’s towers and holiday parks. He added that the Marina d’or enclosed tourism complex in Oropesa del Mar was the closest match to their plans in Wonsan, “aimed at the domestic and international markets”.

Earlier this month, the delegation breezed through Barcelona, showing no interest in the architectural wonders of Antoni Gaudí or the famous Rambla boulevard.

“We wanted to focus on the beaches because that is what we are interested in,” the embassy spokesman said. The group were, however, captivated by Benidorm’s history-based theme park Terra Mítica, suggesting that Wonsan may one day boast an amusement park showing how North Korea evolved to perfection on the shoulders of its Asian forerunners.

As well as visiting Benidorm’s towering hotels, the visitors went to a campsite, where they left some clues about the kind of accommodation available once the Wonsan complex is ready.

“They asked many detailed questions about the costs of each element in the campsite,” Matías Pérez Such, a trip organiser, told the online newspaper El Confidencial.

“If they want to develop tourism, it’s logical that they start from the bottom up with campsites and not 55-floor hotels. But it’s positive that they want to stop being the most hermetic country in the world,” Mr Pérez Such added. “Tourism breaks down barriers.”

But North Korea’s plans to increase numbers of foreign visitors from just over 100,000 to an annual one million were jolted by the recent death of Otto Warmbier, a US visitor jailed after admitting stealing a propaganda poster and then slipping into a coma after his trial last year in Pyongyang.

Two days after Mr Warmbier died on June 13, having been sent home to the US in irretrievably bad health, North Korea’s ambassador to Spain spoke in Madrid of the country’s great potential as a tourism destination.

“They say it’s difficult to travel to our country, but this is not true. You can get a visa in less than a month,” said Kim Hyok-chol. However, he added: “If you want to eat in a Pyongyang restaurant, you can go on your own. But if you want to visit places beyond that, you will be accompanied. So far, this has been the safest and most comfortable way to visit the country.”

‘The delegation was amazed by the dimensions of Spain’s towers and holiday parks, and focused on the beaches’