Theater Demolished as Wonsan-Kalma Tourist Zone Project Enters Final Phase
And just like that, it was gone. Recent commercial satellite imagery shows an outdoor theater that sits at the heart of the Wonsan-Kalma tourist area was demolished days before Kim Jong Un’s visit to the site on July 18. The theater had been barely—if ever—used.
The change is one of several expected in the coming months as officials prepare the long-delayed tourist project for opening by May 2025.
Resort construction initially began in January 2018 and was set to be completed in April 2019. The project has since seen multiple delays, some due to factors like Kim ordering major design changes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and reported problems getting interior infrastructure and furnishings.[1]
While many of the buildings appear to have been structurally complete for several years, the state of the resort’s interiors remains unclear. Given indications that tourism will restart in full later this year, further activity is expected in the coming months.
Theater Demolition
The outdoor theater sat on the beach, approximately halfway along the four-kilometer-long resort and opposite a rotating observation tower that provided views of the resort, beach and neighboring airport. The theater was completed in 2021 and, like the rest of the large resort, has seen little to no use.
In an image taken on August 9, the entire structure of the theater is gone. Whether a new facility will be built at the site or the foundation will be removed and the area restored to a beach remains to be seen.
The theater’s curved roof was visible in a high-resolution satellite image taken on the morning of July 10, but a medium-resolution image taken on July 11 shows the roof appears to have been removed.
Figure 1a. Theater at Wonsan Kalma Beach Resort on imagery from July 10, 2024. Image © 2024 Planet Labs, PBC cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact [email protected]; Figure 1b. Demolished theater and nearby construction activity on imagery from August 9, 2024. The theater was demolished before an image captured on July 11, 2024. Image Pleiades NEO © Airbus DS 2024. For media options, please contact [email protected].
Kim Jong Un Visit
Kim Jong Un visited the beach resort on July 16 to check on the project and issue instructions for its ultimate completion. In high-resolution images published in North Korean state media after the visit, the open-air theater is missing from the beachfront.
Kim apparently liked what he saw at the resort, with state media reporting he had “a broad smile on his face” and praised the resort as “really beautiful and spectacular.” Kim has not always been as pleased during visits to other delayed projects, such as the Pyongyang General Hospital.
In its reporting on the visit, state media disclosed that a decision was made at a January 2024 Political Bureau (Politburo) meeting to open the resort to tourists by May 2025.
The report didn’t mention the open-air theater, but said Kim set out tasks that needed to be completed prior to the opening, including “ensuring the parking space as suited to the capacity of the tourist area, building an amusement park and a leisure activity area, building up the capacity for garbage and sewage treatment and training experts for all the categories of services.”
Current Work at the Resort
Other areas throughout the resort still show signs of construction activity.
Outside the Chinson Hotel—one of the area’s larger hotels that sits at the northern end of the resort—several trucks and personnel are observed on imagery from August 9. Construction material is also visible, indicating that work is continuing to complete the facility.
Work is also taking place on a building that sits opposite of the demolished open-air theater. Construction materials are visible on the roof and in the parking lot (Figure 1).
When Kim Jong Un talked about an amusement park, he was likely referring to a half-completed water park. The main structure of the park is complete but lacks furnishings such as water slides. Efforts like this are still needed before the resort can open next year.
The water park appears to include a number of pools and a “lazy river” water ride.
Much work remains to be done on a building previously identified as a possible arena. Construction activity on the roof of the building began on June 4 but appears to have almost immediately stalled. At present, about one-third of the roof is covered with blue panels, and the rest remains bare.
The nature of the building is unclear, as, despite its large size and height, it does bear a resemblance to a sea turtle from above. This could be a design choice influenced by its location at the resort, but a similar turtle-shaped building can be found at the Pyongyang Zoo, where it contains a reptile house.
At six locations throughout the resort, the roofs of what appear to be environmental shelters, possibly for bicycles, have been replaced with arrays of solar panels.
Figure 7a. Blue roof of environmental shelter located outside National Youth Service Center. Image Pleiades NEO © Airbus DS 2024. For media options, please contact [email protected]; Figure 7b. Solar panels now sit atop environmental shelter outside of National Youth Service Center. Image Pleiades NEO © Airbus DS 2024. For media options, please contact [email protected].
New asphalt has been poured on all of the main roads at the resort and in areas around many of the buildings and facilities. However, there are several areas where this work is yet to be done. Imagery from August 9 reveals ongoing paving of the road surface.
At one of the resort’s utility buildings at the southern end of the complex, resurfacing was taking place as the latest satellite image was taken.
- [1]
“Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un Inspects Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Area under Construction Again,” Korean Central News Agency, November 1, 2018.