Kim Jong-un's resort vanity project dubbed ‘North Korean Benidorm’ ABANDONED & overrun by desperate homeless locals | The Sun
KIM Jong-un's long-awaited Benidorm-style beach resort has been abandoned and overrun by homeless locals.
The dictator demanded the construction of the project back in 2017 after officials were left "amazed" by a trip to Spain's Costa Blanca.
His team had gone on a research trip to gather inspiration for a resort in Wonsan on North Korea's east coast – once used for missile tests.
As Kim's vanity project got underway, pictures showed the grinning despot inspecting rows of high-rise hotels and checking out the views from private villas built over the water.
With more than 150 buildings scattered along the peninsula, the sprawling complex is said to be 90 per cent completed.
But the deadline for completion proved too ambitious, and North Korea's very own Benidorm is now said to be filled with faeces and unfinished hotels.
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After work was halted during the pandemic, locals said the site was overrun by “kkotjebi” – a North Korean term for homeless people.
One person told South Korea's Daily NK: "The buildings are no different from toilets, with bowel movements left behind by kkotjebi everywhere."
A source added: "Buildings without doors have become gathering points for kkotjebi, and now they’re full of human waste and soot from fires.
"And who’s going to clean all that up?
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"Ultimately, the people of Kangwon Province will be mobilised, and labour and money will be wasted on a project when nobody knows when it will open or if tourists will actually come."
North Korea expert Jacob Bogle, who created a detailed map of the country from satellite imagery, said the resort is "nowhere near completed".
"Construction at the Wonsan Beach Resort has been stalled since mid-2020," he explained, according to The Mirror.
"All of the hotels and other buildings have been constructed, but work on finishing the exteriors – windows, paint, lighting – and interiors is nowhere near completed."
He added: "The resort was constructed alongside the dual-use (civilian-military) Wonsan Airbase.
"The main entrance to the resort would require anyone to pass in clear view of the base and that would make hiding difficult.
"However, there is a second entrance to the south, where all of the temporary workers’ housing and workshops are located.
"It is conceivable that homeless people have begun to take up residence in those huts, and from there, entering into one of the numerous hotel buildings would be fairly easy."
According to Daily NK, the authorities asked builders in late January what equipment and supplies they would need to finish the resort.
It's not clear when the final phase of construction will kick off again.
During their visit to Spain's Costa Blanca in 2017, North Korean officials were reportedly enthralled by Benidorm's holiday parks.
It's understood Kim's crew went on a research trip from the French border down the coast to Alicante to search for inspiration.
The Benidorm-style holiday resort is just one grand proposal drummed up by Kim in recent years.
In 2020, he revealed plans to spend a fortune redeveloping a £1billion resort which was closed down after a tourist was shot dead by troops.
In the same year, it was reported that Kim had a new villa built at the coastal spot at the southern tip of the Hodo peninsula, where Google Maps images showed his £5.2million Princess yacht moored up.
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And last year, satellite images revealed where close allies of Kim live in luxury and hoard their riches.
While the average wage in North Korea is just £1,200 a year, the super-rich have amassed vast wealth, including fleets of expensive European cars, designer clothes, and cognac.
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