Miles of white sand, turquoise waters, and rows of pristine beachfront hotels line the shore at the newly built Wonsan-Kalma resort. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hopes the development will be his country’s answer to Waikiki.

But there’s one problem: the tourists aren’t there.

When CNN reviewed footage from the resort, which opened in June, only a handful of Russians could be seen on the vast stretches of beach. The rest of the area appeared empty.

“There are no other foreigners apart from us, 15 people,” said Darya Zubkova, a 34-year-old veterinarian from St. Petersburg, Russia.

She was part of the first group of foreigners allowed to vacation in Wonsan since the pandemic. For a week in July, Zubkova and her fellow travelers had the new multimillion-dollar resort almost entirely to themselves.

The Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone has long been one of Kim Jong Un’s pet projects, frequently showcased in state media. Its pastel-colored hotels, water parks and beachfront promenades were built to broadcast a message: North Korea is open for business.

The reality on the ground tells a different story. Strict Covid-19 protocols remain in place. Tourists are limited almost entirely to tightly managed Russian groups. Chinese and Western visitors are still banned.

The resort itself is divided into domestic and international zones. Zubkova and her group stayed in the international section, separated from North Korean vacationers.

“We could not move around zones freely, although tourists from the domestic zone could go everywhere except the beach,” she said. “There was also a large aqua park — we had the opportunity to see it from the outside, but we were not allowed in because it was in the domestic zone. There were so many locals there, massive crowds.”

She recalled being greeted by hotel staff who bowed as they entered the lobby, then watched as doctors in white coats checked guests’ temperatures and sprayed their hands with disinfectant.

“There was very good service,” she said. “For example, we asked for a clothes dryer for the balcony — they went outside, bought it for us and brought it to the room. We then later asked for a chair for the balcony to lounge on — they bought a couple specially for us and brought these chairs to the room, even despite the short time we were there.”

Her Instagram videos show empty rows of cabanas, resort buses with no passengers, and a vast dining hall prepared for feasts but serving only a dozen travelers.

She said they were treated extremely well: “They tried very hard for all of us. They tried to surprise us in every possible way. They were very strict with themselves to ensure they provided us with the highest quality of services.”

Pyongyang’s consumer sheen

While the coast tries to reinvent itself as a tropical playground, the capital, Pyongyang, has been quietly embracing consumer culture — with a distinctly North Korean twist.

On the city’s streets, foreigners encounter imitation versions of Western brands. There’s “Mirai Reserve,” a café modeled after Starbucks Reserve, where mochas cost $8. There’s a sprawling furniture shop some Chinese students studying in Pyongyang jokingly call “North Korean IKEA.” There’s even a smartphone showroom that looks like an Apple Store, with devices selling for hundreds of dollars.

When Swedish traveler Johan Nylander and his son visited Pyongyang this spring to run in the city’s marathon, before the latest clampdown on foreign tourists, they were stunned.

“Oh man, when you go to North Korea, you will be surprised by so many things,” Nylander told CNN in a Zoom interview.

“I was surprised by the amount of Western brands. Mobile phones are everywhere. Even at a street kiosk, they paid with QR codes — just like in China.”

The presence of QR payments in a country cut off from international banking struck Nylander as surreal.

“You see people texting, watching Premier League football on their phones, playing games. It looks like everyday life anywhere else.”

But the consumer sheen is reserved for a privileged few. During CNN’s visits inside North Korea, we’ve seen department stores in Pyongyang stocked with Hermes and Gucci. Fast-food counters served burgers and fries in packaging that looked like McDonald’s — minus the golden arches.

Pyongyang is a showcase city, heavily resourced to impress both visitors and North Koreans from rural areas. The majority of the population, though, still lives far from these displays of prosperity.

Analysts say Kim’s push for consumerism isn’t just about appearances. By mimicking Western brands and amenities, the state gives its elites — often officials, diplomats or workers sent abroad — the lifestyle they crave, while ensuring their dollars and euros flow into state-run businesses.

For tourists, one of the rare chances to see beyond the curated façade comes with the Pyongyang marathon, an event that reopened to foreigners in 2025 after years of pandemic closure. Nylander, who has been to North Korea twice, described it as one of the few times he felt truly free in the country.

“During the marathon, you can run through the city. Families are out, kids are high-fiving you, shouting ‘Bali, bali!’ (‘Hurry, hurry!’),” he said. “You get these small moments of connection with people — and you realize they’re just like us. They want the best for their kids, they sing karaoke, they drink beer, they joke about politics. People are people everywhere.”

He added that locals he spoke with knew about Donald Trump but had never heard of Madonna.

“That’s North Korea for you,” he laughed. “Connected, but disconnected at the same time.”

Social media influencers draw ire

Tourism is one of the few sectors not targeted by UN sanctions, and analysts say Kim sees it as a lifeline — a way to bring in foreign currency while polishing the country’s international image.

Before the pandemic, Western travelers could book tours into North Korea through a handful of specialized agencies. Trips were tightly scripted but accessible, and hundreds of foreigners signed up each year to see the country firsthand.

The new Wonsan-Kalma project in particular has been touted as a symbol of progress, even floated as a potential venue for future diplomatic summits.

But the government’s need for control has slowed the rollout. YouTubers and influencers are now barred from visiting after viral videos showed too much of daily life. Western tourists remain locked out. Even Russian groups face heavy restrictions.

Officials briefly loosened the rules in spring 2025, allowing foreigners to participate in the Pyongyang marathon. But soon after, a wave of influencer videos flooded social media, drawing the ire of North Korean authorities. Within weeks, visas for Western visitors were suspended again — a sudden U-turn that underscored how unprepared the government bureaucracy is for the unpredictable reach of social media.

Mike O’Kennedy, a content creator who previously filmed in North Korea, told CNN the government is deeply cautious about what outsiders capture. “North Korea cares enormously about its image. Even the smallest detail can be blown up by foreign media,” he said. “That’s why they’re so hesitant to allow content creators back in — it’s unpredictable and hard for them to control.”

Back on the beaches of Wonsan, Zubkova said she never felt unsafe or monitored, but she noticed staff everywhere — lifeguards, waitresses, cleaners, even doctors.

“There were staff members everywhere, though I’m not sure why or for whom, since we were the only ones there,” she said. “For us there was just too much space because we were the only ones there.”

For now, North Korea’s attempt at Waikiki remains more stage set than functioning resort. The beaches are clean, the sand machine-smoothed each morning, but the empty rows of beach chairs hint at a country not quite ready to throw open its doors.

Nylander believes there’s potential.

“North Korea is a huge consumer market waiting to happen. If sanctions were lifted, demand for international products would explode,” he said. “But for now, what you see in Pyongyang and Wonsan is for show — a message to the world that they can be modern, even while the doors stay shut.”

As the sun sets over the deserted Wonsan coast, the image is striking: a world-class resort waiting for guests who may never come.