# North Korea Built its Own Dubai ![[images/North-Korea-Built-its-Own-Dubai-t0008.webp]] **Creator:** The B1M · **Presenter:** Fred Mills · **Published:** 2026-10-12 · **Length:** 15:22 · [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNyrk_DE7l0) > Caption source: YouTube English (en-GB) captions (first attempt hit HTTP 429; succeeded on a spaced retry with the default client). Chapters from the video description; written story by Ian Parkin on theb1m.com. ## Outline ### 0:00 Introduction - **0:00** "Where are you going for your next summer holiday? I'm willing to bet it ain't here…" - **0:08** Introduces **Wonsan Kalma**, a holiday resort "with a twist": a former military testing ground reinvented as North Korea's answer to Dubai. - **0:20** Despite massive international sanctions, the country has built a glitzy resort offering "sun, sea, sand and socialism" — possibly the only holiday destination with its own missile launch pad. - **0:43** The punchline: shortly after opening to crack the international tourism market, North Korea banned foreign tourists. - **0:52** Two questions frame the video: how does a country cut off from the global construction industry build a resort — and who is it actually for? ### 1:08 An unlikely building spree - **1:08** Wonsan is a port city about 140 km from Pyongyang; the **Kalma peninsula** has 4 km of pristine sandy beaches. - **1:22** Twelve years ago it was hardly a place to unwind, yet in 2014 it was earmarked as a "national treasure-level" tourism destination. - **1:41** Over the last decade North Korea has been on a nationwide building spree — a multi-decade drive for new housing and factories, including **50,000 new homes in Pyongyang** alone. - **2:02** Architect **Calvin Chua** (Choson Exchange) says that, given the limits on resources, what they've achieved is "pretty good." ### 2:21 Construction techniques - **2:21** Chua's architectural workshop around ten years ago found many North Korean architects had been educated in Europe and brought that knowledge home — professional skills aren't as rare as you'd expect. - **2:46** The real constraint is the crippling sanctions endured for much of the last 70 years. - **2:55** Without access to global supply chains for glass and steel, North Korean architecture relies on **concrete** for almost everything — even where it's unsuited. - **3:15** Case study: the **Ryugyong Hotel**, Pyongyang, 330 m and the country's tallest building. ![[images/North-Korea-Built-its-Own-Dubai-t0335.webp]] - **3:23** Normally such a tower has a concrete core with a glass curtain wall on a steel frame; Ryugyong is almost entirely concrete, so it spreads over massive foundations to avoid being top-heavy — material shaping form. - **4:00–5:22** Sponsor segment (Odoo — project management app, Kanban/Gantt views, first app free). - **5:25** The same constraints shape Wonsan Kalma's hotels: chunky, "definitely not as slender," more horizontal than vertical; the tallest is only about 30 storeys — which also suits commanding sea views. ### 6:00 North Korean construction industry - **6:00** Construction means long, gruelling hours; workers come from local labour crews, and the army plays a major role. - **6:11** High-profile projects use **"shock brigades"** — specialist workforces under huge pressure to hit extremely tight deadlines. ![[images/North-Korea-Built-its-Own-Dubai-t0605.webp]] - **6:22** Deadlines are timed to state occasions such as the **Day of the Sun** (Kim Il Sung's birthday), forcing brigades to wage **"speed battles."** - **6:42** Example: a housing project in **Samjiyon**, where Kim Jong Un brought the deadline forward a year; escaped workers reported 20-hour days in –20 °C weather. ### 7:02 Tourism in North Korea - **7:02** Why would the world's most isolated country build a luxury resort on a military testing ground? - **7:14** Since **Dubai** went from quiet port to playground for the ultra-wealthy, everywhere from Budapest to Bhutan has tried to emulate it. - **7:29** North Korea's particular reason: sanctions have crippled the economy, but **tourism isn't covered by them**. - **7:40** Small-scale tours have existed for decades, but observers say leisure became an income strategy only after Kim took power in 2011. - **7:52** 2014: the **Masikryong ski resort** opened near Wonsan — nine trails, a luxury hotel and a pool. The government then announced plans to make the wider Wonsan region, including Kalma, a tourism hub. - **8:11** Location advantages: a couple of hours' flight from several major Chinese cities; hot humid summers that are about as good as it gets in the region; a 4 km beach "hoteliers everywhere would die for." - **8:36** Proof of desirability: the ruling Kim family has two luxury villas nearby. - **8:45** The same features — flat coastal land, transport links, sea access — also make it ideal for a missile launch pad. ### 8:56 Wonsan Kalma - **8:56** "Killing two birds with one stone": while the resort was being planned, a launch pad was built and became a regular missile-test site. - **9:14** The neighbouring airfield became a dual-use civilian international airport. - **9:21** The programme: 12 hotels, 28 villas, 48 mansions, a water park, sports fields, an outdoor concert venue, an Olympic-sized pool and a beachfront promenade — all laid out in grand socialist style. ![[images/North-Korea-Built-its-Own-Dubai-t0950.webp]] - **9:37** Chua: the ~5 km² site is the output of a **single master developer — the state** — so it looks uniform because it was all built at once, unlike resorts where competing developers create distinct offerings. - **10:08** One master developer means one client — attractive to project managers, until that client is a totalitarian dictator who changes his mind regularly. ### 10:34 How to handle a client like Kim - **10:43** Construction began in early 2018; Kim's first visit came in May — he praised "new miracles" in construction, urged a realistic schedule for high craftsmanship, then set completion for **15 April 2019**, just 11 months away. - **11:08** August 2018: Kim complained the buildings looked "separated" and differed in height, ordered them "altered" to be "more harmonious," wanted artificial lakes changed to "match their surroundings" and fishing spots added. - **11:30** Later that year: demands for more hotels, a high-rise office building, more arcades, a stadium, cinemas, a funfair and a new train station. - **11:44** April 2019, days before the deadline: "spectacular" — but he still wanted a promenade tram, more street furniture, electric cars and floating piers. - **12:01** "Being a fair man," he pushed the completion date back another 12 months. ### 12:09 Construction progress - **12:09** Whatever the chaos, a lot was built very quickly: satellite images from November 2017 vs. 12 months later show the footprint and layout largely as they are today. ![[images/North-Korea-Built-its-Own-Dubai-t1230.webp]] - **12:27** Imagery can't reveal build quality or interior progress. - **12:39** Evidence of Kim's whims everywhere: a nearly complete Olympic pool (2018) was filled in months later with a hotel built on top; an apparently finished amphitheatre was demolished in 2024 and rebuilt slightly to the south; the missile launch pads were built over and relocated to a neighbouring site. - **13:08** In the end it took seven years to open. ### 13:12 The grand opening - **13:12** 24 June 2025: Kim attends a spectacular gala opening, calling it "the proud first step" in developing the country's tourism industry. ![[images/North-Korea-Built-its-Own-Dubai-t1325.webp]] - **13:26** No Western or Chinese tourists allowed — two weeks later the first international visitors were a group of invited **Russian influencers**, accompanied by Foreign Minister **Sergei Lavrov**. - **13:46** 18 July 2025, just two and a half weeks after opening: the official North Korean tourism agency banned foreign visitors, with no reason given; as far as The B1M can tell, the ban remains. - **14:02** Theories: the influencer visit went badly and officials paused out of embarrassment — or the missiles; launches continue nearby despite the pad's relocation. - **14:28** Reports suggest domestic visitors still come, but beyond a few set-piece buildings many interiors are far from finished. - **14:42** Verdict: Wonsan Kalma becoming "the next Dubai" just became even more unlikely. - **14:53** Sponsor recap (Odoo), podcast plug and subscribe call. ## Things Mentioned ### Places & Buildings - Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone (Kalma peninsula, Wonsan, Kangwon Province) - Wonsan city and Wonsan Kalma (dual-use) International Airport - Pyongyang - Ryugyong Hotel, Pyongyang (330 m, North Korea's tallest building) - Masikryong Ski Resort - Samjiyon (housing project / new town) - Kim family luxury villas near Wonsan - Missile launch pad at Kalma (later relocated) - Dubai (the benchmark); Budapest and Bhutan (Gelephu Mindfulness City) as would-be imitators ### Resort Facilities - 12 hotels, 28 villas, 48 mansions - Water park, sports fields, outdoor concert venue / amphitheatre (demolished and rebuilt 2024) - Olympic-sized swimming pool (filled in for a hotel) - Beachfront promenade; requested tram, floating piers, electric cars, stadium, cinemas, funfair, train station, office tower ### Construction & Design Concepts - Concrete-dominant construction in place of steel frames and glass curtain walls - Wide foundations to counter concrete tower weight - Horizontal, low-slung hotel massing (tallest ~30 storeys) - Single master developer / state-led masterplanning - Client-driven scope creep and moving deadlines - "Shock brigades" and "speed battles"; army labour in construction - Satellite-image progress tracking (Nov 2017 vs. Nov 2018) ### Events & Timeline - 2011: Kim Jong Un takes power - 2014: Wonsan tourism plan; Masikryong opens - Early 2018: construction begins; Kim visits May and Aug 2018 - 15 April 2019: original deadline (Day of the Sun), later pushed back - 24 June 2025: gala opening - Early July 2025: Russian influencer visit with Sergei Lavrov - 18 July 2025: foreign tourists banned ### Organisations & Groups - Choson Exchange (education programmes in North Korea) - North Korean state / Korean People's Army - National Tourism Administration of the DPRK (official tourism agency) - International sanctions regime (UN and others) ### Media, Sponsors & Links - Odoo (sponsor) — bit.ly/4xFV2LE - *Mega Builds* — book by Fred Mills - The World's Best Construction Podcast (The B1M) - Get Construction Talking (mental-health initiative) - Full story: theb1m.com/video/north-korea-built-its-own-dubai (by Ian Parkin) - Footage credits: KCNA, KCTV, BBC News, Grand Budapest, Gelephu Mindfulness City, CNN, Darya Zubkova, CBS Mornings ## Bios - **Fred Mills** — Co-founder and presenter of The B1M, the world's largest construction-focused video channel; author of *Mega Builds*. Hosts and narrates this video. - **Calvin Chua** — Singapore-based architect and urbanist who volunteers with Choson Exchange, which has run architecture and business workshops in North Korea, including at Wonsan Kalma; interviewed throughout. - **Kim Jong Un** — Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011; personally directed Wonsan Kalma through repeated site visits, design changes and deadline shifts, and opened it in June 2025. - **Kim Il Sung** — Founder of North Korea and its "eternal president"; his birthday, 15 April, is celebrated as the Day of the Sun and was the resort's original deadline. - **Sergei Lavrov** — Russia's long-serving Foreign Minister; accompanied the Russian influencers who became Wonsan Kalma's first international visitors in July 2025. - **Ian Parkin** — The B1M writer credited with the accompanying written story on theb1m.com.