First Time Foreign Tourists are Invited by North Korea to Participate in Pyongyang Marathon

For the first time Holidaymakers are rushing to sign up to, the Pyongyang marathon after North Korea opened its doors to runners from the world. Tourism companies say they are being busy by requests to sign up to

the April 13 event after the secretive country allowed amateur runners from around the world to join in. Opening up the race, includes a marathon, half-marathon and 10km run, which is a part of North Korea’s ongoing bid to draw more tourists and investment for the country.

The race will begin and end at the Kim Il Sung stadium, passing some of the city’s iconic monuments on the route. Aspiring runners had to apply through agencies familiar with the North Korean bureaucracy in order to get the appropriate visas.

A Beijing-based agent for the travel agency Koryo Tours, Simon Cockerall, said: ‘I think a lot of the attraction is the “Pyongyang” part rather than the “marathon” part. Almost two hundred foreigners have signed up for the event, which coincides with commemorations of the April 15 birthday of North Korea’s first leader, Kim Il Sung. That is an unusually large number, though the North’s famous mass games are also often a big draw.”

Andrea Uri, head of Uri Tours, said, ‘The marathon has traditionally been open only to professional runners with 2:27 male and 2:38 female cutoff times, making it impossible for even the best recreational runner to participate. Generally, the country has become more friendly for tourism, This change in policy is in line with what we’ve seen to be the tourism administration’s willingness to explore different tour programs and other avenues to attract tourism.’