The seaside town full of derelict hotels dubbed ‘Benidorm of North Korea’

Kim Jong-un visits resort in April 2019 (Image: Pen News) A beach resort nicknamed the the ‘ North Korean Benidorm’ is left rotting with empty hotels and overrun by homeless people. The resort was originally planned near the city of Wonsan, earning its name after communist North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly sent a fact-finding mission to Spain’s Costa Blanca back in 2017. The ambitious deadline set by the dictator proved too ambitious, as delays pushing the timeline from April to October 2019 and then to April 2020. Construction came to an end during the pandemic, leaving the resort abandoned and unfinished. The North Korean seaside resort is now riddled with faeces (Image: Pen News) Local residents have revealed the dire state of the site, previously used for missile tests, with reports of faeces-filled buildings and an influx of “kkotjebi” — a North Korean term for homeless people. One individual told Daily NK, a South Korea-based newspaper, “the buildings are no different from toilets, with bowel movements left behind by kkotjebi everywhere”. A source in Kangwon Province, which encompasses Wonsan, said: “Buildings without doors have become gathering points for kkotjebi, and now they’re full of human waste and soot from fires. “And who’s going to clean all that up? Ultimately, the people of Kangwon Province will be mobilised, and labour and money will be wasted on a project when nobody knows when it will open or if tourists will actually come.” Kim Jong-un visits the seaside resort in North Korea (Image: Pen News) Photographs from April 2019 captured Kim Jong-un inspecting the resort, appearing content as he strolled past high-rise hotels and enjoyed the view from one of several private villas constructed directly over the water. Jacob Bogle, a North Korea expert who has meticulously mapped the country using satellite photos, explained that construction at the Wonsan Beach Resort had stalled since mid-2020. Mr Bogle said: “All of the hotels and other buildings have been constructed, but work on finishing the exteriors – windows, paint, lighting – and interiors is nowhere near completed.”He continued: “The resort was constructed alongside the dual-use (civilian-military) Wonsan Airbase.”The main entrance to the resort would require anyone to pass in clear view of the base and that would make hiding difficult. “However, there is a second entrance to the south, where all of the temporary workers’ housing and workshops are located. “It is conceivable that homeless people have begun to take up residence in those huts, and from there, entering into one of the numerous hotel buildings would be fairly easy.”