North Korea Reopens to Tourists in December After 5 Years

Berfin Ceren Meray
Onedio Member
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After a five-year closure due to the COVID pandemic, North Korea is finally reopening its doors to foreign tourists. Starting in December 2024, visitors will once again be able to explore one of the world’s most secretive countries. Here’s what you need to know before planning your trip.

North Korea decided to close its borders in 2020 to protect itself from the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the past five years, no tourists have been allowed into North Korea, which implemented some of the strictest measures in the history of the pandemic. North Korea not only banned foreign tourists but also restricted its own citizens from returning to the country, making it inaccessible for visitors for five years.

In the second half of 2023, international flights were resumed for Koreans living outside North Korea to return to their homeland.

According to the BBC, starting in December 2024, foreign tourists will also be able to visit North Korea.

Two tour operators have confirmed, "Our local partner has verified that tourism will officially resume in Samjiyon city and possibly the rest of the country in December 2024."

A Chinese tourism agency has announced that 'tourists will be able to visit Samjiyon (in the Paektu Mountain region) this winter.'

It was reported that while the city of Samjiyon, designed as a "socialist utopia," will officially open, an official announcement for other locations is also anticipated.

Access to Samjiyon is likely to be via a land border in northern China that has never been used by Western tourists before.