North Korea to restart international tourism in Samjiyon from December 2024

After a long COVID shutdown, North Korea has announced plans to restart international tourism in its northeastern city of Samjiyon from December 2024. There are also plans of expanding to other parts of the country, according to tour companies. This announcement comes after a prolonged hiatus in international tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has kept North Korea largely closed to foreign visitors since early 2020.

Koryo Tours, a company with over 30 years of experience operating in North Korea, seems happy about this. “Having waited over four years to make this announcement, we are thrilled about the return of North Korean tourism,” the operator stated. Koryo Tours has never before experienced such an extended closure of the country’s borders.
The operator, headquartered in Shenyang, China, also confirmed that tourists will be able to visit Samjiyon by the end of 2024. The city, located near the Chinese border, has been highlighted by North Korea as a showcase of its "socialist utopia," featuring new apartments, hotels, a ski resort, and various cultural and commercial facilities.

International flights to and from North Korea only resumed last year. In February 2023, a small group of Russian tourists visited for a private tour, coinciding with strengthened ties between Moscow and Pyongyang. North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, had made a rare trip to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin in September 2022, followed by Putin’s visit to North Korea in June 2023. The Russian tour group included individuals from across Russia, reflecting the broad interest in visiting North Korea.
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In July 2023, Kim Jong Un took significant action against some senior officials for their “irresponsible” management of the Samjiyon project. The city, which Koryo Tours previously visited in 2018 while aiding British television star Michael Palin with a travel documentary, is being promoted as a model of a highly civilized mountain city.

More about Samjiyon

Samjiyon is a city near North Korea’s border with China. The city, part of North Korea's ambitious Phase 3A expansion project, has been developed to showcase a highly civilized mountain city. In 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took action against officials over mismanagement of this project, highlighting its importance to the regime.