Inter-Korean event to commemorate 20th anniversary of Mt. Kumgang tourism

Posted on : 2018-11-16 15:04 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Hyundai Group and N. Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee to act as joint hosts
The Hyundai Group’s cruise ship Hyundai Kumgang takes its first voyage to Mt. Kumgang in November 1998. (provided by the Hyundai Group)
The Hyundai Group’s cruise ship Hyundai Kumgang takes its first voyage to Mt. Kumgang in November 1998. (provided by the Hyundai Group)

From Nov. 18 to 19, an inter-Korean event will be held near Mt. Kumgang to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the launch of tourism to the mountain. The event is being jointly hosted by the Hyundai Group and North Korea’s Asia-Pacific Peace Committee.

By granting approval for a large delegation including incumbent leaders of local governments, ruling and opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly and a former Unification Minister to visit the North, the South Korean government signaled policymakers’ keen interest in the Mt. Kumgang tourism project. The last time South and North Korea held a joint event to mark the beginning of tourism to Mt. Kumgang was four years ago, in 2014.

“Today, we granted permission for a delegation from the Hyundai Group to visit Mt. Kumgang from Nov. 18 to 19 to hold a joint inter-Korean event celebrating 20 years of tourism to Mt. Kumgang. There will be a total of 107 people in the delegation, including Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun and 29 other people from the Hyundai Group, lawmakers in the National Assembly, former government ministers and reporters,” the Unification Ministry said on Nov. 15.

This delegation to North Korea, which will be traveling overland, includes former Unification Ministers Lim Dong-won, Jeong Se-hyun and Lee Jong-seok, who provided policy support for the Mt. Kumgang tourism program from its beginning on Nov. 18, 1998, until tourism was suspended after the fatal shooting of Park Wang-ja on July 11, 2008. Another member of the delegation is Choi Moon-soon, the governor of Gangwon Province who has worked to expand economic cooperation and exchange and cooperation along the border of South and North Korea.

There are six National Assembly lawmakers on the delegation, namely Rep. Ahn Min-seok, chair of the National Assembly’s Education, Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee; Rep. Lee In-yeong, chair of the National Assembly’s Special Committee for Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation; and Rep. Kim Gyeong-hyeop, all three from the Democratic Party; Rep. Park Jie-won, from the Party for Democracy and Peace; Rep. Lee Dong-seop, from the Bareunmirae Party; and Kim Jong-dae, from the Justice Party. No lawmakers from the Liberty Korea Party are visiting North Korea.

North Korea will be sending over 80 people to the event, including members of the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and the Mt. Kumgang special zone committee. The event will consist of a commemorative service jointly hosted by the Hyundai Group and the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, a congratulatory performance by North Korea’s Peace and Unification Art Troupe, a commemorative tree planting and a congratulatory banquet.

“We hope that this event will serve as an opportunity to quickly put the conditions in place for resuming tourism to Mt. Kumgang, which was once a symbol of peace and cooperation,” the Hyundai Group said.

Unification Ministry distances itself from resumption of tourism to Mt. Kumgang

But the Unification Ministry distanced itself from such implications. “This event is purely a commemorative event by the project organizations; it was proposed by the Hyundai Group and accepted by the North Koreans. It bears no connection to the resumption of tourism to Mt. Kumgang,” a ministry official said.

Given recent developments and the US government’s adamant opposition to resuming tourism, it’s unlikely that this joint event will lead to concrete talks between South and North Korea about resuming tourism to Mt. Kumgang.

Nevertheless, the event does serve as a reminder of the significance and symbolism that the Mt. Kumgang tourism project, which has been suspended for more than ten years, held in the history of inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation. As such, it lays the groundwork for restarting the tourism project. In the Pyongyang Joint Declaration in September, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said they would reopen the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the Mt. Kumgang tourism program when the right conditions were in place, emphasizing their commitment to resuming tourism, at least in principle.

In light of the international community’s sanctions on North Korea, South and North Korea are expected to focus on revitalizing the Mt. Kumgang tourist area by quickly opening a permanent reunion center there for the divided families and by holding inter-Korean exchange and cooperation projects in the area, rather than pushing immediately for the resumption of tourism there.

In related news, 97 Korean businesspeople living overseas traveled via the Chinese city of Shenyang to Pyongyang on Thursday to attend a conference aimed at fostering peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula. The businesspeople are members of a delegation from the World Federation of Korean Association of Commerce (sic), led by President Kim Deok-ryong. The event, which will last through Nov. 18, is being jointly hosted by the federation and North Korea’s Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and its National Economic Cooperation Alliance.

During their stay in Pyongyang, federation members will be visiting a number of North Korean businesses -- such as the Taedonggang beer factory and the Taedonggang Seafood Restaurant – in industries including food and beverage, drinking water, beer, textiles, furniture, cosmetics and shoes. They will also be attending an investment seminar hosted by North Korean business groups.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer, and Choi Ha-yan, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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