New DPRK Site Spotted: Munsu Water Park

Want to swim, rock climb, get a haircut and work out all in the same place? Well, now you can at this massive water park in North Korea! The DPRK has opened the Munsu Water Park in Pyongyang open to locals and foreigners alike. It’s 15 hectares in total with indoor and outdoor facilities to cover all seasons. It ain’t no Disney Land, but it’s worth it to go just for the novelty of it. Our next trip there is with our New Year’s in North Korea tour – Registration deadline is December 20, 2013.

The Munsu Water Park was built in 9 months and opened this November to the public. We were here the day the news of Jang Song Thaek’s arrest broke out. Despite the recent news, it was surely a packed Sunday at Munsu Water Park.

HOW TO GET THERE:

1) Join one of our North Korea tours. See How to Book a North Korea tour for more information.

2) Pack your bathing suit (or rent one from the park in the socialist style – everyone gets the same style!)

3) Pay the entrance fees:

Entrance fee = 2 Euros
Access to pools = 10 Euros
Rock climbing = 2 Euros

4) Spend the afternoon here and enjoy!

WHAT TO DO THERE:

FIRST AND FOREMOST, SWIM
Get on a windy water slide, brave the waves at a simulated ocean pool, practice your breast stroke in the lap pool, and jump off the many diving boards. Seize the opportunity – when else will you have a chance to swim alongside a North Korean??

GET A HAIRCUT
Find out if there’s truth to the recent headlines that say there are only 28 state-approved hair styles. (Spoiler: the charts are only used as a guide, we’re told).

JOIN A VOLLEYBALL GAME

Or if you don’t like volleyball, or just waiting your turn, you can kill some time on the trampoline!

ROCK CLIMB

Helmets and safety rope included:

GRAB PASTRIES

This bakery run by the DPRK domestic company called Haedanghwa is quite modern and allows you to grab pastries, sandwiches, breads on a tray and pay at the end. They sell fries with Heinz ketchup here, as well as draft beer.

CHUG NORTH KOREAN DRAFT BEER

It’s a recent trend to brew beers on the premises. Microbreweries have been popping up all over the place in the DPRK (see our Beer, Fishing, Boats and Guns tour for an inside look into the microbrewery culture in North Korea)! Here, the same domestic DPRK company Haedanghwa has a microbrewery inside the water park.

NORTH KOREAN FAST FOOD?

Take a break from swimming and grab some roast chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers, fries and soda at this snack shack (right next to the plasma TVs on the first floor).

PERK UP WITH A STRONG COFFEE BEFORE STEPPING BACK INTO PYONGYANG

The domestic DPRK company, Haemaji, has a fancy little coffee shop on the second floor. This is a good place to have a quiet conversation in between laps at the pool. Coffees range from 3-5 USD. You can get lattes, cappuccinos and chocolates here.

Our next trip there is with our New Year’s in North Korea tour – Registration deadline is December 20, 2013.

Filed under: Uncategorized | December 12, 2013