An online advertisement by a North Korean travel company showing young Russians frolicking on a beach is going viral for its weird content. The Korean state-owned Korea International Travel Company recently launched a seemingly low-budget advertisement aimed at attracting tourists to the secretive East Asian nation. The video features young Russians enjoying sunny days in one of the world’s most isolated countries.
After being shared on the Reddit thread ‘r/northkorea’, the video has sparked hundreds of comments highlighting its eerie qualities. It was reportedly filmed at Majeon beach in South Hamgyong Province, North Korea.
The ad begins with a young, blonde Russian woman pulling back the curtains of her hotel room to reveal a sun-soaked beach. After some light exercise and a stroll along the sand, she joins a group of fellow Russians for a beach day.
The group is shown swimming, riding jet skis, running awkwardly, and playing beach volleyball. Two fit tourists conduct a beachside interview in Russian, but their voices are almost drowned out by the sound of the waves.
Russians advertising North Korean beach in bikinis
byu/KJU_3002 innorthkorea
Many Reddit users expressed disbelief that a North Korean tourism agency would promote women in bikinis, an act that is illegal in the country. Others noted the unsettling emptiness of the shots, as most clips feature no people in the background. One user quipped, “So many happy locals around,” while another remarked, “It’s incredible how a North Korean beach looks just like a North Korean road-empty.”
Some speculated that the beach resort might be exclusively for tourists, potentially explaining the disregard for the bikini ban. Others criticized the ad’s production quality, considering the wealth of the totalitarian regime’s leader, suggesting it had poor filming and editing.
The video appears to be shot on a low-quality camera, lacking microphones or advanced editing techniques. Many viewers found the location’s strange atmosphere amusing, with one commenter writing, “If I go here, I would disappear 1000%.”
Despite the ad’s odd vibe, viewers might wonder why North Korea’s tourism board is specifically targeting Russians.
The two countries have been working to strengthen their relationship in recent years.
