The large-scale hot spring, spa and sports resort is the second of its kind created by the state
North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, has opened a large-scale hot spring and spa resort – called Yangdok County Hot Spring Cultural Recreation Center – in a bid to drive tourism into the country.
The resort is home to indoor and outdoor hot-spring bathing, and multi-functional sports and cultural facilities. It also offers skiing and horse-riding.
Kim says: “It’s a very happy event to provide the new hot spring culture to the people, but it’s also pleasing to find that soldiers of the People’s Army created such civilisation with their own hands. It’s absolutely perfect.”
The Yangdok centre is the second mountain spa resort unveiled by Kim, the first is located in Samjiyon and was hailed by Kim as the “epitome of modern civilisation”. The state is also developing a coastal resort in Wonsan.
These projects come as a result of the economy being constricted by UN sanctions following tensions with foreign governments relating to North Korea’s nuclear weapons policy and human rights breaches. This has led the government to focus on inbound tourism opportunities appealing to its Chinese and South Korean neighbours.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2020 issue 1
Editor's letter: Time to shine
As spas reach peak revenues, now’s the time for our industry to act as a catalyst in working out how we measure the impact of an experience and the ‘return on wellness’ says Spa Business' editor Katie Barnes
Promotional feature: TechnoAlpin
If you want to deliver a hot and cold experience as part of your wellness programme, adding a snowroom will introduce a delightful and more gentle form of cold therapy, as Sara Brenninger explains
Trends: Spa Foresight™
Climate emergency, gen alpha and brain optimisation are among Spa Business’ latest trend predictions
Promotional feature: The Wellness
Investing in children’s facilities gives a spa and wellness offering a competitive edge, as well as helping the next generation achieve their potential, explains Mohammed Ibrahim, CEO of industry design and consultancy practice, The Wellness
Promotional feature: RKF Luxury Linen
As a symbol of luxury, innovation and quality in the world of spa and hospitality, much of RKF Luxury Linen’s success comes from its highly client-centric design process, says CEO Riadh Bouaziz
Design: Heat of the moment
From giant golden eggs and converted ski lifts to rustic, hand-crafted huts, we showcase the latest in heat experience design and innovations
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
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our limits and the sweat pours, the importance of efficient recovery cannot be overstated. [more...]
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The large-scale hot spring, spa and sports resort is the second of its kind created by the state
North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, has opened a large-scale hot spring and spa resort – called Yangdok County Hot Spring Cultural Recreation Center – in a bid to drive tourism into the country.
The resort is home to indoor and outdoor hot-spring bathing, and multi-functional sports and cultural facilities. It also offers skiing and horse-riding.
Kim says: “It’s a very happy event to provide the new hot spring culture to the people, but it’s also pleasing to find that soldiers of the People’s Army created such civilisation with their own hands. It’s absolutely perfect.”
The Yangdok centre is the second mountain spa resort unveiled by Kim, the first is located in Samjiyon and was hailed by Kim as the “epitome of modern civilisation”. The state is also developing a coastal resort in Wonsan.
These projects come as a result of the economy being constricted by UN sanctions following tensions with foreign governments relating to North Korea’s nuclear weapons policy and human rights breaches. This has led the government to focus on inbound tourism opportunities appealing to its Chinese and South Korean neighbours.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2020 issue 1
Editor's letter: Time to shine
As spas reach peak revenues, now’s the time for our industry to act as a catalyst in working out how we measure the impact of an experience and the ‘return on wellness’ says Spa Business' editor Katie Barnes
Promotional feature: TechnoAlpin
If you want to deliver a hot and cold experience as part of your wellness programme, adding a snowroom will introduce a delightful and more gentle form of cold therapy, as Sara Brenninger explains
Trends: Spa Foresight™
Climate emergency, gen alpha and brain optimisation are among Spa Business’ latest trend predictions
Promotional feature: The Wellness
Investing in children’s facilities gives a spa and wellness offering a competitive edge, as well as helping the next generation achieve their potential, explains Mohammed Ibrahim, CEO of industry design and consultancy practice, The Wellness
Promotional feature: RKF Luxury Linen
As a symbol of luxury, innovation and quality in the world of spa and hospitality, much of RKF Luxury Linen’s success comes from its highly client-centric design process, says CEO Riadh Bouaziz
Design: Heat of the moment
From giant golden eggs and converted ski lifts to rustic, hand-crafted huts, we showcase the latest in heat experience design and innovations
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, has opened a 2,800sq m spa called The Sanctuary,
with the design and concept inspired by the Native American people that populated Florida’s
Southwest coast – the Calusa.
Swire Hotels’ luxury hospitality brand Upper House has revealed it will roll out its two-day
House of Healing retreats at its three hotels in Hong Kong, Chengdu and Shanghai.
LVMH-owned beauty house Guerlain will launch up to five spas with partners a year as part of
its plan to expand globally, according to the brand’s international spa and wellness director,
Diane Davody.
A new global study by Kevin Kelly and Peter Yesawich, called WELLSurvey 2.0, has revealed
more than half of consumers in the UK, US and Germany would not choose numerous high-
profile wellness resort brands for a future trip.
Luxury hospitality and wellness pioneer Jeremy McCarthy has launched Leisure Alchemy, a
digital platform that will provide professionals with strategic guidance on how to build
transformational leisure experiences that drive profit.
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
In the fast-paced world of fitness and wellness, where high-intensity workouts push us to
our limits and the sweat pours, the importance of efficient recovery cannot be overstated. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
marocMaroc Since its creation in 2007, MarocMaroc has invited the world to explore Moroccan beauty through a u [more...]