This is how it’s done: North Korean officials visit Spain for beach resort inspiration

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wants to develop beach tourism in the secretive socialist state.
Image credit: AFP

The “Hermit Kingdom’ of North Korea likes to at least try to do things its own way, shunning much of the rest of the world for most of the time, and only inviting foreign attention when it has a propaganda push…

But even the North Koreans admit that some places simply do things better than others, which is why the nation apparently imports (unofficially, of course) American computers, German cars, and French wine.

And while it is pretty impossible to import a pre-packed beach resort, the North Koreans are doing the next best thing: shipping a delegation of 20 officials to Benidorm and Salou in Spain to get some insider tips on how to deliver the very best in tourism.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Kim Jong-un, the nation’s ‘Dear Leader’, wants to build a Mediterranean-style resort in Wonsan, a port city on the country’s coast.

The North Korean embassy in Madrid has confirmed that its officials have recently enjoyed a road-trip fact-finding mission along Spain’s Mediterranean coast, stopping at Benidorm where they were “amazed by the dimensions” of the resort’s famous towers and holiday parks.

The Marina d’Or tourism complex at Oropesa del Mar was cited by the officials as the closest match to North Korea’s plans in Wonsan, which – they say – “will be aimed at domestic and international markets”.

Apparently the 20 North Korean officials visited Barcelona, but showed no interest in the city’s architectural and cultural highlights, fixing instead their sights on the stretch of beach that edges most of the city.

“We wanted to focus on the beaches because that is what we are interested in,” the embassy spokesman said.

Benidorm’s Terra Mitica, a history-based theme park, may act as inspiration for North Korea, however, where the embassy said that the idea of basing a theme park showing how North Korea arrived at the point of “perfection” could be a winning idea.

“They loved the recreation of the various ancient Mediterranean civilisations. It would be very interesting to apply that concept in our theme park, maybe with Asian civilisations,” the embassy said.

What the delegates would make of the glamour and individual wealth of Puerto Banús and much of the Costa del Sol, however, remains to be seen…