These days, booking a seat for a tour to Gaeseong (Kaesong) is as difficult as getting a plane ticket to Jeju Island during the summer holidays.

Approximately 17,000 tourists have participated in tours to the North Korean town for the past two months since the program began on December 5. Hyundai Asan, the tour operator, initially expected the number of tourists to reach 15,000, but the company has increased the number of tour buses to one or two per day to cope with the increased demand for the tour. Even though it is winter, which is usually a slow season for tours to cold-weather climates, a large number of tourists are unexpectedly flocking to Gaeseong.

The number of people who have made reservations for February and March has already exceeded capacity. The capacity for February is 7,500, but 9,000 tourists have made reservations. For the month of March, 11,000 tourists have booked reservations, surpassing the capacity of 7,800. An official of Hyundai Asan said, “Seats for February and March are booked up. People who want to travel Gaeseong in April and May should make reservations now.”

Hyundai is planning to discuss increasing the number of tourists, currently limited to 300 a day, with North Korean officials. The company also plans to diversify the tour and increase convenience facilities and accommodations in the mid- and long-term to develop the existing one-day tour into a two-day program.

Gaeseong has become a popular destination for South Korean tourists as a place where visitors can experience the reality of North Korea and see the cultural heritage of the Goryeo Kingdom. Just 70 kilometers from Seoul, Gaeseong is easily accessible to people from the metropolitan area, making one-day tours possible. Gaeseong also has historical sites that have attracted the curiosity of tourists, such as Pakyon Falls and Sonjukkyo, the bridge where ranking Goryeo government official Jeong Mong-ju was killed by Lee Seong-gye, the founder of Joseon Kingdom. Another merit is that the tours are led by North Korean tour guides and travelers can get a glimpse into the lives of Gaeseong residents by looking around the city.

“Approximately 25 percent of the visitors to Gaeseong are displaced persons in their 60s and 70s, while most of the remaining tourists are families,” the Hyundai official said. The popularity of Gaeseong also led more than 1,000 elementary and secondary students to visit the city during their winter vacations.

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