North Korea’s large seaside resort “Wonsan-Galma Coastal Tourist Area” will be officially opened on July 1. A completion ribbon-cutting ceremony was held a few days ago. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended with his wife and daughter. Daughter Kim Joo-ae followed Kim Jong-un closely. First Lady Ri Sol-ju, who appeared in public again after a year and a half, mostly stayed aside quietly, not stealing the spotlight from her daughter.
According to South Korean media reports, the “Wonsan-Galma Coastal Tourist Area” is a construction project that the North Korean government attaches great importance to. It has been planned since 2014 and was originally expected to be completed in 2019, but it was delayed until June 24 this year to hold the completion ribbon-cutting ceremony. It can be said that good things take time.
According to North Korean official media, the seaside resort in the Wonsan-Galma Coastal Tourist Area can accommodate more than 20,000 tourists. The surrounding facilities of the resort include hotels, restaurants, shopping centers and water parks. However, after the opening in July, the Wonsan-Galma Coast Tourist Area is only open to North Koreans, not international tourists, so outsiders can only imagine what the resort looks like.
In recent years, North Korea has wanted to develop the tourism industry, but has been inconsistent in its attitude towards opening up international tourists. Currently, the main sources of international tourists are still limited to China and Russia. In February this year, it briefly opened up to more tourists from Western countries, but suddenly called a halt a few weeks later without explaining the reason for the closure.
In addition, Kim Jong-un’s wife and daughter also became the focus of attention at the completion ribbon-cutting ceremony. Kim Jong-un has recently brought his daughter Kim Joo-ae to various events many times. The outside world generally believes that this move is intended to highlight his status as the successor. In sharp contrast, the first lady Ri Sol-ju, who has not appeared in public activities for a year and a half, reappeared this time after a long absence. She was wearing relatively casual pants and no suits. She always kept a certain distance from Kim Jong-un and his daughter in front of the camera, showing a posture of supporting them from the side. However, the sharp-eyed Korean media still pointed out that the Gucci bag that Ri Sol-ju was carrying was expensive, priced at about 3 million won.
Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong also attended, but she almost never appeared in the photos released by North Korean official media.
