Kim Jong Un Opens Luxury Mountain Resort in Samjiyon Amid Economic Hardship

North Korea has opened five luxury hotels in the remote city of Samjiyon, with leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Ju Ae attending the inauguration. State media promoted the resort as evidence of national progress despite widespread economic hardship. The move is part of Kim’s broader effort to boost tourism and showcase development ahead of a planned party congress next year.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his daughter Ju Ae, has inaugurated what state media describes as an “attractive mountainous tourist resort and leisure ground for the people.”
According to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), five luxury hotels have now been opened in Samjiyon, a remote city in the northern part of the country close to the Chinese border.
Despite widespread economic hardship faced by much of the population, Pyongyang has promoted the newly opened luxury hotels, which are equipped with facilities such as barbecue restaurants, hot tubs, and various leisure spaces.
Kim attended the opening ceremonies on Saturday and described the resort as “clear proof of the rising status of our people,” even as most North Koreans continue to endure significant hardships. During the visit, he personally toured the bedrooms and other hotel facilities, including checking the firmness of the beds, according to KCNA. His daughter Ju Ae, whom many analysts believe is being positioned as his potential successor, accompanied him throughout the inspection.
State media asserted that the hotels demonstrate that North Korean citizens have “nothing to envy in the world.”
The opening of the resort comes at a time when Kim is seeking to showcase the country’s economic progress ahead of a ruling party congress scheduled for next year, during which a new development plan is expected to be announced.
KCNA quoted Kim as saying the new resort stands as “clear proof of the ever-growing ideal of our people and our state’s potential for development.”
Tourism to North Korea remains tightly controlled and is largely restricted to government-approved tours that offer visitors only carefully managed glimpses of daily life in the highly isolated country.
However, Kim has been pushing to expand the tourism sector, and the opening of the Samjiyon hotels follows the launch earlier this year of the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone, another major tourism project aimed at attracting visitors.