Applications Open for Next Year's Pyongyang International Marathon... "Early Bird 50% Discount"

Recruitment for Next Year's April 15 International Marathon Participants
50% Discount for Registration by September 1

North Korea-focused travel agencies have begun accepting applications for participation in the Pyongyang Marathon, which will be held in April next year.

On July 22, the website of Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based travel agency, posted a notice recruiting tourists to participate in next year's Pyongyang International Marathon. The notice states that those who register by September 1 will receive a 50% discount on the participation fee.

A marathon race will be held in North Korea. Goryeo Tour website.

Koryo Tours announced that the event is scheduled to take place in April next year, but said that the specific dates have not yet been confirmed. According to the website, all runners are invited to an opening ceremony that includes a lap around Kim Il Sung Stadium before heading out onto the streets of Pyongyang. For this year, the participation fees are $150 (about 207,495 KRW) for the full marathon, $100 (about 138,330 KRW) for the half marathon, and $70 (about 97,000 KRW) each for the 10 km and 5 km races.

Since 1981, North Korea has held the international marathon to commemorate the birthday of President Kim Il Sung on April 15 (known as the Day of the Sun). The event was not held for five consecutive years from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it resumed this year. North Korea appears to be expanding tourism, which is not subject to international sanctions, as a means of earning foreign currency.

After allowing foreign entry from September 2023, North Korea began accepting Western group tourists in the Rason Economic and Trade Zone at the end of February this year. However, as internal circumstances became fully exposed to the outside world, the tours were suddenly suspended.