Inside North Korea's 'Benidorm' where tourists are forced to be happy for Kim Jong-un

A North Korean resort has opened styled on Benidorm in Spain (Image: Getty)

North Korea has taken inspiration from the south of Spain, trying to attract new plumes of tourists into the Benidorm-style beach resort where visitors are forced to smile and clap for cameras like a “film set”.

While many people may stick to their Ryanair flight to the Costa Del Sol, North Korea has put a huge investment into the resorts in Wonsan - a former missile launch site - fitting it out with beachside hotels, pools, restaurants, and waterparks.

And unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, for Brits, Wonsan is closed off to all foreigners except Russians, with most of its guests coming from the North Korean elite. Despite the ban, more than 250 British nationals registered their interest in making the trip to Wonsan through travel agent On The Beach – although they are not offering tours there.

Kim Jong-un’s Benidorm-style beach resort is a “film set” where visitors are for (Image: Credit: Pen News)

Kim Jong-un and his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, open the Wonsan-Kalma beach (Image: Credit: Pen News)

The resort includes a selection of new beach front hotels (Image: Credit: Pen News)

It gained the "North Korean Benidorm" after Kim Jong-un reportedly sent a fact-finding mission to Spain's Costa Blanca in 2017 which led to the creation of the new resort.

Early visitors told the Daily NK newspaper: "People who went on a group tour this month joked that they felt like they went to a film set rather than a resort

Guests were described as "unwitting actors ordered to pay attention to their appearance and perform scripted activities - running, waving, clapping and smiling - for cameras".

While many in North Korea still may plan a trip to the site they should prepare for it to take a big chunk out of their wallet. The source added that even the designated "hero" families couldn't afford basic activities, with a restaurant meal charging $10 and a waterskiing trip costing $3 - the equivalent to the average monthly salary.

It apparently feels like a 'film set' (Image: Credit: Pen News)

Visitors are allegedly forced to smile (Image: Credit: Pen News)

The source added: "For ordinary people, it's a pipe dream. Fat officials, Pyongyang residents, and the nouveau riche go to resorts, while ordinary people mostly go to political events or get mobilised for labour."

But North Korea’s struggling and lacklustre infrastructure is having some alarming affects on the people who actually live there with electricity being slashed and water only coming on once every two to three days.

The source explained: "Wonsan residents say the tourist site is receiving priority provisions."

Michael Madden, an expert on the country's elite and founder of North Korea Leadership Watch, said Kim Jong-un had pledged to tackle the excesses of the ruling class.

The resemblance to Benidorm is uncanny... (Image: Credit: Pen News)

The new resort is only open to North Koreans and Russians (Image: Getty)

"So an exclusive enclave sucking electricity and water from the locals contradicts prevailing regime trends and what the supreme leader is saying in public," he said.

He continued: "Either Kim Jong-un decided that completing the resort would involve siphoning utilities from the city, consequences be damned, or he was not in full possession of the facts."

He said: "North Korean builders and designers are always under pressure to ensure that the power and water work when the supreme leader inspects new constructions.

"During the leader's visits he will turn on random faucets and lights to ensure that people aren't lying to him in their official reports about construction.

"No joke - find a random newsreel of Kim Jong-un inspecting a housing or dormitory construction and you'll see him turn on a faucet randomly. His father did the exact same thing."