How much does a trip to North Korea cost?
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Russians are offered a vacation in North Korea for 150 thousand rubles. The authorities of Primorye announced the launch of new summer tours, trips are designed for 8 and 12 days and primarily involve a beach holiday. Departure dates are still unknown. However, in April and May, the Russians will go on three more five-day tours to North Korea. What are the prospects for this direction? And what should tourists expect from their trips? Ekaterina Vikhareva will tell you.
Since 2020, North Korea has been closed to Russians due to the COVID-19 pandemic; tourism was resumed in February 2024. 98 people then went to the Masikrong ski resort. The government of Primorye considers this direction so promising that, in addition to new tours, it is also developing a plan to restore railway communication with the DPRK. There really is a demand for trips, Natalya Zinina, director for development of the North Korean direction of the Vostok Intour company, told Kommersant FM: “Tourists will live in houses with Korean families.
In the evening, large bonfires are lit on the seashore, as in Soviet times. It is planned to visit several more observation platforms and climb the mountains to Buddhist temples.
The Internet doesn’t work there, there is no geolocation system, so if you don’t know which way to turn, you can easily stay there for a long time. But this does not mean that you are under the supervision of some person. The country is very original, as if you were transported 20 years ago.”
The first groups of Russian travelers should go on holiday to the Chilbo coast near the city of Chongjin in mid-June. Travel agencies said that an eight-day tour will cost about 150 thousand rubles. The price includes air tickets, hotel accommodation, excursions, transportation costs, three meals a day and insurance. However, even before the pandemic, Russians made about 1 thousand tourist trips to North Korea on average per year. Market players still do not pin their hopes on this direction, noted Arthur Muradyan, president of outbound tourism at the Association of Tour Operators:
“The beach season there is quite short, about two months. Tourists must be prepared for some exotic things that come with strict rules.
It seems that mostly journalists and bloggers go there, that is, people not directly aimed at tourism. North Korea has no real prospects for the development of mega-resorts, since Laos and Myanmar are nearby. Within the tourism industry, skepticism about obtaining any significant results on the DPRK remains at a high level.”
However, Pyongyang has already announced plans to create a separate resort for Russians. The complex will include 17 hotels, 37 inns, shops and a 4-kilometer beach. The North Korean authorities usually approach the organization of trips very carefully, and tourists often simply do not have time for solo walks, emphasized professor and Korean scholar Andrei Lankov, who has visited the DPRK more than once:
“There will be serious restrictions on communication, although in case of some kind of emergency, telephones by wire are quite possible. And so you can expect very beautiful mountains, the sea, political exotica – portraits and statues of leaders.
Something, at first glance, will begin to resemble the Soviet Union a little. In general, such a historical and political adventure. This is not mass tourism, but travel for an amateur.
The level of comfort will not be the same as what people are used to in Turkey. In addition, of course, there are serious restrictions in the DPRK. But in most cases, the schedule will be constructed in such a way that a person simply will not feel them.”
Travel agencies believe that the demand for North Korea arises precisely because of its closedness and inaccessibility. Operators also believe that people are attracted by nature untouched by civilization.
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