Wonsan Winter Blues: A Frosty Surprise in North Korea's Coastal Hideaway

woke up in wonsan to a cold slap in the face. like, legit -6°C and feels like -13°C. my nose hairs froze on the walk to breakfast. i’m not built for this kind of cold, but hey, that’s what happens when you chase stories in january. i just checked and it’s -6°C there right now, hope you like that kind of thing.

anyway, wonsan isn’t exactly a tourist hotspot, but that’s why i came. the port city vibe is weird-part soviet nostalgia, part sleepy beach town that forgot summer. i stayed near the main square, which is basically a giant empty parking lot with a statue of kim il-sung looking mildly disappointed. someone told me that the seafood here is unreal, but i couldn’t find a single open restaurant that wasn’t serving the same three dishes: cold noodles, grilled fish, and mystery meat soup.

“the best view is from the old train station,” a drunk guy slurred at me in broken english. “take the 5am train to mount kumgang. it’s worth it.”

turns out, the 5am train doesn’t run in winter. classic. but the station itself was a time capsule-peeling paint, soviet clocks stuck at 3:17, and a ticket booth lady who looked like she’d been there since 1972. i snapped a few photos (discreetly, because cameras are a whole thing here) and wandered back to the waterfront.

*the beach was empty.* like, eerily empty. just me, a few bundled-up locals, and a guy selling pine cones out of a cart. i asked him why no one swims in summer either, and he just shrugged. “too cold,” he said. “always too cold.”

if you get bored, hamhung and pyongyang are just a short drive away. but honestly, wonsan’s charm is in its stillness. no crowds, no tourist traps, just a quiet city holding its breath until spring.

for more on north korea travel, check out tripadvisor or lonely planet. just don’t expect wifi.