North Korea, one of the most repressive countries in the world, has invited foreign golfers to participate in an amateur tournament in its capital, Pyongyang, with the aim of developing "friendly ties."
In a series of posts on a tourism website operated by the North's State Tourism Administration, it was announced that a golf club in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang Golf Club, will host "a tournament for amateur golfers" this autumn.
One post noted that "foreign amateurs can also participate in the competition in our country and develop friendships with Korean amateur golfers."
An Chan-Il, a dissident turned researcher who heads the World Institute for North Korea Studies, commented that the regime has "made golf an important means of obtaining foreign currency."
The internationally-isolated country has even established a "golf department" at a well-known sports university in the capital, and recently set up a Ryomyong Golf Travel Company that specialises in organising golf tours on the capital's course, working together with Chinese counterparts.
Pyongyang Golf Club. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
"Those who wish to participate in the golf lovers' tournament can contact the Ryomyong Golf Travel Agency of the State Tourism Administration," it said, also providing details of the agency's address, phone number, and email address in the Jongin River district of Pyongyang. The invitation was posted in English, Chinese, Russian and Japanese in a wider appeal to overseas golfers.
The post referred to a comment made by the "information department director of the World Golf Association", in which he reportedly said that he had "never seen a golf course with such enchanting scenery, fresh air and unique natural beauty as that in Pyongyang." In May this year, the golf course already hosted a competition of a similar nature under the sponsorship of the Golf Association of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
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Since the start of the pandemic, the country imposed even tighter border restrictions than it already had in place. However, it looks increasingly likely that the authoritarian regime ruled by Kim Jong Un would relax border controls. The invitation to foreign golfers seems to be one such sign, as does North Korea’s participation in the Asian Games, to be held in China in September.
