North Korean ‘capitalist city’ to welcome tourists…but...

NORTH Korea's "capitalist city" is set to open and welcome tourists next week - with a packed itinerary that visitors are to strictly follow. The launch of the bizarre experimental city is to be the first organised tour open to international visitors since the country's borders shut off from the world in January 2020. The five-day itinerary centres around the northerly city of Rason - chillingly sitting right on the Russian and Chinese borders.

Image Credit: The Sun [Foggy view of a public square in Rason, North Korea.]

The Special Economic Zone of Rason is the only part of North Korea where capitalism is promoted in the socialist state. Residents can buy and sell houses and even open a private bank account - all of which are strictly prohibited elsewhere in North Korea. Several activities are packed into each day on the tour, from watching seals to visiting a health facility that treats chronic gastritis. Tourists will also get stuck in with a cookery class and, in the same day, visit a training centre dedicated to the massively popular Chinese-made game "Go".

Image Credit: The Sun [A woman poses for a selfie with North Korean schoolchildren.]

But towards the end of the tour, visitors are set to have activities replaced with grandiose celebrations for the late General Kim Jong II's birthday. And while western tourists may be desperate to take a look inside North Korea - warnings have been put out of high risk of arrest and detention. The strict Return of North Korea Tourism Tour bizarrely bizarrely in the Chinese city of Yanji. Here, tourists are required to attend a "late evening pre-tour briefing" at the hotel where they'll receive etiquette lessons and a chilling warning on how to stay safe while travelling North Korea.

Image Credit: The Sun [Group photo of tourists and North Korean schoolchildren in a classroom.]

Even the briefing is under strict time limits and is to only last one hour. The tour will commence by crossing the border from China into North Korea via Wonjong Bridge. Upon arrival in Rajin, the bigger of the sister cities in Rason, tourists will have a look around Hae'an Park which, in typical North Korean style, has "manicured lawns" and a "giant television displaying news". You'll also get to take a look around a greenhouse where flowers that are named after North Korean leaders are grown - dubbed Kimilsungia and Kimjongilia.

Image Credit: The Sun [Two tourists pose for a photo in front of a painted backdrop of a waterfall.]

In a sudden twist of events, visitors will receive a Taekwondo demonstration before visiting the Pupils' and Schoolchildren's Palace. Afterwards, guests will check into the Namsan Hotel in Rajin. Koryo Group, the Beijing-based tour company that have organised the trip, describes the hotel as being "of modest size" - yet "a little past its prime". Tourists will presumably have to wake up early for the second day of the tour as the itinerary is packed - from visits to a foreign language bookshop to exploring a fine art gallery that's said to be in a "small windowlesss two-storey building".

Image Credit: The Sun [Imperial Hotel in Rason, North Korea.]

There will also be a boat trip to Pipha Island to catch a close-up glimpse of the seals that reside on its land. In the afternoon, visitors will have a kimchi making class and also visit a training centre dedicated to the Chinese-made game "Go" which has been played worldwide since World War II. A bank will also bizarrely be visited, where you can change your money into local currency - but keep in mind you can't take it out of the country.

Image Credit: The Sun [People walking and cycling on a road near houses in Rason, North Korea.]

To top off the day, tourists will have the riveting and random chance to visit the Rason School Uniform Factory which received a refurbishment in 2023. A trip to Tumangang Town is on the itinerary for day three, which is chillingly right up on the Russian and Chinese borders. Here, visitors can experience the Russia-DPRK Friendship House and the Three-Countries Border Viewpoint - where you can look directly into China and Russia.

Image Credit: The Sun [Kim Jong Un smiling at a departure ceremony.]

Today is also the day a duck farm that breeds black swans and the sea cucumber breeding farm will be explored. Following the string of weird activities, tourists will be taken to Sonbong - the smaller of the two cities of Rason. And following a hike on Mount Shahyang, day three will conclude and visitors will be returned to Rajin. Day four, which is set to be on February 16, is General Kim Jong II's birthday, meaning no activities are in place but instead tourists will be forced to partake in celebrations.

Image Credit: The Sun [Children playing a fish-catching arcade game.]

The itinerary reads: "We expect city-wide celebrations, including Mass Dance, a highlight of all national holiday tours to North Korea. "The itinerary for today is not fixed as we will try to attend as many festive activities as possible.". The tour will conclude with a taste from home as visitors will explore the Ryongysong Beer Factory - a North Korean pale lager that was actually brewed at a former British brewery in Trowbridge, Wiltshire.

Image Credit: The Sun [View from inside a bus driving through a mountainous area.]

The Paekhaksan Combined Foodstuff Processing Factory, where local brands of snacks and drinks are produced, is also on the itinerary to visit. And saving the best til last, a visit will be paid to the Chonghak Sanatorium - a medical facility where chronic gastritis and rheumatoid arthritis are"cured" by using mineral water from Mountain Chonghak. Then, visitors will return to Wonjong Bridge and on to Yanji before flying back home to normality.