Kim Jong Un Pushes State-Controlled Fun as North Korea Embraces Leisure Boom

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is overseeing an unusual expansion of leisure and consumer activities, with coffee shops, water parks, luxury shopping centres, beach resorts and other recreational facilities becoming increasingly prominent across the isolated country.

The development is part of a broader effort by Kim’s government to encourage citizens to spend more money through businesses and facilities controlled by the state, according to a Reuters review of trade data and North Korean state media reports, as well as interviews with recent visitors and defectors.

North Korea has long been associated with shortages and strict state control, but the country has recently seen a growing range of consumer-oriented services. Imports from China provide one indication of the change: shipments of massage equipment to North Korea have increased about 40-fold over the past decade, while treadmill imports have risen by more than 600%. Pianos, bumper cars and other leisure equipment have also increasingly entered the country.

The expansion includes luxury malls, ski destinations and resorts, including the Wonsan Kalma coastal resort, which has become one of the most visible examples of Kim’s drive to develop tourism and domestic leisure.

The strategy, however, appears to go beyond simply providing entertainment.

Analysts say the government wants to draw consumer spending away from informal markets and into state-controlled businesses, allowing authorities to capture more revenue while strengthening their influence over economic activity.

North Korea has historically relied heavily on informal markets, known locally as jangmadang, where citizens buy and sell goods outside the traditional state distribution system. The expansion of official retail and leisure facilities provides the government with another means of bringing economic activity under its control.

The emerging consumer culture is particularly visible in Pyongyang, where new commercial facilities and luxury goods have become more common.

Reuters reported that North Korea’s economy grew by an estimated 3.5% in 2025, with increased trade and economic activity contributing to the improvement. But the benefits remain unevenly distributed, with many North Koreans still dependent on cash and unable to afford the new range of consumer services.

The country has also expanded recreational facilities under Kim’s leadership. Earlier projects included amusement parks, water parks and ski resorts, while more recent development has focused on combining leisure facilities with broader regional development.

The Wonsan Kalma resort is part of this wider push. Kim has repeatedly promoted tourism and improved living standards as evidence of economic progress.

Despite the appearance of a more relaxed consumer culture, the expansion is taking place within one of the world’s most tightly controlled political systems.

Human Rights Watch says North Korea under Kim maintains extensive restrictions on political and civil freedoms, including arbitrary detention, collective punishment and severe restrictions on freedom of expression.

The new leisure economy therefore represents a delicate balance for Kim: giving citizens greater access to entertainment and consumer goods while ensuring that the economic activity remains firmly under state supervision.

Analysts cited by Reuters say the strategy could help the government generate revenue, manage inflation and placate a growing middle class without introducing the broader economic liberalisation that could weaken state control.

The result is an increasingly unusual picture of North Korea; a country where amusement parks, coffee bars, resorts and luxury shopping are expanding, but where the government remains determined to control where and how citizens spend their money.