Mt. Geumgang

Mt. Geumgang, or Mt. Kumgang (금강산/金剛山), is located in the northern part of Gangwon Province, north to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) near the East Sea...

Mt. Geumgang is famous for its beautiful scenery all the year round. The highest peak, Birobong, is 1,638m (54 hundred feet) above the sea level. Its name is derived from the Buddhist scriptures, Hwa-eom Gyeong (화엄경/華嚴經, the Garland Sutra), which says, "There are saints living at Mt. Geumgang."

In reality, Mt. Geumgang landscape, composed of graceful but grotesque skyline of mountains, valleys, waterfalls and nearby lake, is so fascinating that all Koreans as well as foreign tourists are eager to visit Mt. Geumgang.

Key words
Mt. Geumgang, tourism, DMZ, Hyundai Asan,

Mt. Geumgang Tourism
After long negotiations between Hyundai Asan, the exclusive private operating company, and the North Korean authority, the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, Mt. Geumgang tour started by a sea route in 1998. On November 18, 1998, hundreds of South Korean visitors set the first sail to Mt. Geumgang by sea.

Hyundai Asan, founded by late Chung Ju-yung (故정주영), disclosed on June 7, 2005 that more than one million cumulative visitors traveled around Mt. Geumgang. Since South Korean visitors approached the mountains by land through DMZ in September 2003, travelling time and costs could be remarkably curtailed. As a result, more than three thousand South Korean people stayed in Mt. Geumgang district in a single day in the high season.

Suddenly in July 2008, a South Korean tourist, who was supposed to take a walk along the seashore crossing the wired off-limit zone, was shot down to death. For the resumption of Mt. Geumgang tourism, the Korean government demanded three conditions from Pyongyang: an apology, preventive measures, and a guarantee of the personal safety of tourists. North Korean expressed its dismay but would not go further because of its "Military First" (선군/先軍) policy.

To make matters worse, a series of incidents including the Cheonan warship sinking and Yeonpyeong Island artillery attack took place. Mt. Geumgang tourism was totally suspended. Even though there took place negotiations between the North and the South, the North Korean government has expropriated the rights and properties at Mt. Geumgang Tourism Zone owned by South Korean entities in 2011.

Mt. Geumgang Tourism Zone
On October 23, 2002, the North Korean government declared Mt. Geumgang district as the international tourism zone. One month later, on November 25, it promulgated Mt. Geumgang Tourism Zone Act. Shinuiju was also declared as a Special Economic Zone in September 2002 with one thing different from Mt. Geumgang Zone in that it is the Special Economic Zone with independent legislative, judiciary and administrative power guaranteed.

However, since the tragic shooting took place in July 2008, Mt. Geumgang tourism had been suspended indefinitely and the North Korean authority became impatient. On April 29, 2011, the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly declared Mt. Geumgang District as an International Tourism Special Zone, and repealed the existing Mt. Geumgang Tourism Zone Act, which was replaced by Mt. Geumgang International Tourism Special Zone Act.

On June 17, 2011, the North Korean authority advised that Mt. Geumgang Family Reunion Center (금강산 면회소) and a fire station owned by the South Korean government, and the Cultural Center, Hot Springs and the Duty Free Shop owned by the Korea Tourism Corporation will be disposed soon. The North Korean officials demanded the South Korean partners to come to Mt. Geumgang to discuss how to dispose the rights and properties located in Mt. Geumgang district.

On July 13, 2011, the South Korean delegates visisted Mt. Geumgang, and made a suggestion of the North-South Meeting on Mt. Geumgang affairs. On July 29, the North Korean authority informed that the South Korean properties should be legally disposed within three weeks under Mt. Geumgang International Tourism Special Zone Act.

Finally on August 22, all the South Korean properties located at Mt. Geumgang Zone were confiscated and prohibited from being taken away from Mt. Geumgang Zone. The South Korean personnel were ordered to leave Mt. Geumgang Zone with all the facilities and vehicles left behind within 72 hours. The North Korean authority told that all the South Korean rights and properties shall be legally disposed and transferred to the North in accordance with Artiles 26 and 40 of Mt. Geumgang International Tourism Special Zone Act.

However, as Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il died on December 17, 2011, all the North and South relations have changed. So it remains to be seen whether Mt. Geumgang tourism will be resumed or not in the near future.