Can you imagine writing a postcard telling the folks back home what you had seen during your travels and realized that the only thing you could write home about was the hotel you stayed in?

That was exactly what happened to me when I visited Tongrim, a city in North Korea’s Pyongan province which has been open to tourists since 2014. Or more precisely, opened to tourist dollars: there are few sites within the area that would justify its opening to tourism.

The most touristy site is undoubtedly the landmark Tongrim Hotel itself, located in an isolated plot surrounded by