Koreas mark 20 years of joint tourism project marred by shooting
200 views · Published 3 December 2018 · 4:03 · Indexed 28 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(28 Nov 2018) North and South Korea have just marked 20 years since the start of a joint tourism project in the spectacular Mount Kumgang range - but the project has been on hold for the past ten years since a South Korean visitor was shot dead there. Representatives of the South Korean conglomerate Hyundai, which started the tourist resort, made an anniversary trip to Mount Kumgang in November for the first time in several years. But in spite of recently warming ties between Seoul and Pyongyang, strict international sanctions make it difficult to reopen the business. And for now, Mount Kumgang gets just a trickle of visitors compared to the torrents that used to come in from the South. The area has just won recognition this year from the United Nations - it's officially a UN designated biosphere reserve. The unspoilt scenery is very impressive, with steep rocky crags rising out of forested hillsides, water rushing along valley floors, and occasional dramatic waterfalls cascading down from ridges high above. But relatively few foreigners make the journey. There has been a pick-up in numbers from China this year, though no tourism statistics are available. Han Gum Hui has been a tour guide at Mount Kumgang for the past eight years. She said tourism has been increasing and hopes Mount Kumgang will "be revitalized as an international tourist resort." Since the South Koreans stopped tours, North Korean tourists have been coming in increasing numbers to Mount Kumgang. After South Korea pulled out of the project over the killing of one of its tourists by a North Korean guard in 2008, and after a failure to reach agreement between North and South on how to restart the project, North Korean authorities announced that they would seize all the assets at the resort. This year, as relations are much better between the South and North, there is renewed hope that Mount Kumgang could again see thousands of South Koreans visiting. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/32ffd71e0b63ea1094447905db4dbb4e
