It isn’t exactly Club Med, but North Korea wants you to visit — so long as you’re Russian.
The state-owned Korea International Travel Company recently geared some online video advertisements towards young Russians, beckoning them and their rubles to the hermit kingdom’s miles of pristine beaches.
The commercials were filmed at Majeon Beach in South Hamgyong Province, and depict fit, attractive Russians frolicking in the sand and engaged in a heated game of beach volleyball.
Ecstatic couples are shown jumping in the waves while jet skis speed across the open waters. A Russian woman is also seen shadowboxing in the ad, with a majestic mountain in the foreground.
Ironically, the ad features women in bikinis, even though the popular swimwear is banned in the totalitarian country.
Russia and North Korea have been strengthening their alliance in recent years. During a visit to North Korea in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a mutual aid agreement with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in the event that either nation is attacked.
Putin arrived to cheering crowds in Pyongyang, as well as lavish ceremonies, complete with an honor guard with mounted soldiers. A large crowd of civilians, including children, held up giant portraits of both leaders.
North Korea reopened its borders to tourism in January for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials in the oppressive country, where famine runs rampant, generally do not hold tourists to the same standards it does its denizens.
In February, about 100 Russian tourists entered North Korea for a 4-day skiing excursion.
Masikryong Ski Resort near Wonsan first opened up in 2014.
The ski resort was famously promoted by the Kim, who was photographed smoking a cigarette while on one of the ski lifts.
The US State Department issued a travel warning in July, advising Americans against visiting Russia, and also recommends not visiting North Korea.
