<figure id="attachment_272965" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-272965" style="width: 3336px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8b234b12"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/10/aflo_15461888.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-272965" class="wp-caption-text">Golf courses in North Korea have hand-pushed carts but also caddies (Image: AP/Afro)</figcaption></figure>
 For the first time in six years, North Korea held a golf tournament.
 According to North Korea&#8217;s state media, the Korean Central News Agency, the finals were held on October 19 and 20 by players who had won the qualifying rounds. The location was the Pyongyang Golf Course, about an hour&#8217;s drive from the center of the capital. This is the first time in six years that a golf tournament has been held in North Korea.
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 The Pyongyang Golf Course is a well-known luxury leisure facility in North Korea. Until 2004, the Pyongyang International Amateur Golf Tournament was held there every autumn. The construction work was completed at the end of 2007, but was suspended due to the spread of the new coronavirus,&#8221; said a South Korean newspaper reporter.
 The competition was divided into four divisions by age, gender, and level. The winners were presented with trophies, certificates, and prizes. Why did North Korea suddenly resume the golf tournament?
<h2> Appealing to wealthy Chinese in order to obtain foreign currency</h2>
<figure id="attachment_272967" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-272967" style="width: 4928px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="df329587"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/10/jpp043309472.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-272967" class="wp-caption-text"> The final of the golf tournament held at the Pyongyang Golf Course from October 19 to 20 (Image: Jiji Press)</figcaption></figure>
 Shinichi Hen, editor-in-chief of Korea Report, explains.
 The new corona epidemic has begun to settle down, and they are probably thinking of reopening the border that was sealed off in January 2008. They are expecting tourists from China and want to use it as a means of acquiring foreign currency. Golf, which is expensive in terms of equipment purchase, can only be played by a very limited number of people in North Korea. They are appealing to the wealthy in China.
 Tourism is not included in the sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear and missile development. (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-Un is focusing on developing ski resorts, resort beaches, and hot spring facilities as well as golf courses. Revitalizing the tourism industry is one of the most important things for North Korea to do to earn foreign currency.&#8221;
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 The Pyongyang Golf Course, which served as the venue for the event, is more than just a leisure facility. When the event was held every fall, North Korea spread an incredible legend about the golf course, which was associated with Kim Jong-Un&#8217;s father, Jong-il.
 According to various North Korean media outlets, Kim Jong-il visited the &#8220;Pyongyang Golf Course&#8221; in 1994, when he was 52 years old. That was the first time Mr. Jong-il had ever been on a golf course. Despite this, Mr. Jong-il showed astonishing skill.
 He made a hole-in-one on 11 of his 18 holes. If that is true, he must have been a prodigious talent that neither Tiger Woods nor Hideki Matsuyama could ever match.
 The &#8220;Legend of Kim Jong-il&#8217;s Superbness&#8221; was spread in order to raise the prestige of golf in North Korea. Will the day come when the wealthy Chinese will come out in droves, as Kim Jong-Un has planned?
<figure id="attachment_272968" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-272968" style="width: 5760px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="327fa64e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/10/aflo_15963894.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-272968" class="wp-caption-text"> A golf course in North Korea that is usually used as a playground for children (Image: AP/Afro)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_272969" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-272969" style="width: 4928px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="91e3cd76"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/10/jpp043309470.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-272969" class="wp-caption-text"> Senior citizens who won a golf tournament (Image: Jiji Press)</figcaption></figure>

 AP/Afro Jiji Press

 For the first time in six years, a golf tournament was held in North Korea. It is thought to be an appeal to the wealthy in China as the new Corona is settling in. The venue was the prestigious "Pyongyang Golf Course. Kim Jong-Un's father, Jong-il, demonstrated his astonishing skill on his first course.

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