North Korea opens new ski resort, hopes it will bring boost in tourism

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) welcomed the first group of international guests to its newly completed Masik Pass ski resort on Thursday.

Foreign reporters, ambassadors and their relatives were invited to experience the ski resort that was completed on Dec 31, 2013.

Foreigners need to pay foreign currencies for service at the resort and it takes about 33 dollars for a foreigner to spend a day at the site.

Thanks to the country’s top leader Kim Jong Un’s visits when it was under construction, the resort has already become popular among people in the DPRK.

Located around 170 kilometers away from the DPRK capital Pyongyang, the resort is surrounded by mountains which provide an almost ideal environment for people to go skiing while enjoying the snow scenery.

The resort is equipped with 11 ski runs designed for skiers of all levels. It also has facilities like cable cars, lifts, snow buses and motors that enable tourists to climb the mountain. It also provides skiers with a whole set of equipment needed for skiing as well as professional coaches to teach them how to ski.

The resort charges local residents in the DPRK for around four US dollars per hour or 12.5 dollars for four hours, cheaper than that for foreigners.

“Thanks to Marshal Kim Jong Un, we can have such a good ski resort,” said a local tourist, who fully enjoyed his first skiing experience.

The mountainous region around the Masik Pass is covered with snow from November to March the next year. The DPRK officials hope to develop characteristic tourism at the site to attract more foreign tourists. The country has also planed to establish an international tourist route in its east coast.