By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter



Kwon Jung-sook, second from right, the one millionth traveler to Mt. Kumgang, and her family members pose for the camera after receiving a gift certificate from Yoon Man-jun, left, president of Hyundai Asan, at the customs, immigration and quarantine office in Kosong, Kangwon Province, Tuesday./ Korea Times

Mt. KUMGANG _ The number of South Korean tourists who visited Mt. Kumgang in North Korea has surpassed the 1 million milestone, about six and a half years after the tour programs began.
Hyundai Asan, which operates the tour programs, said a total of 443,345 South Koreans have visited the area via overland routes since September 2003, bringing the total number of tourists from the South to 1 million, the company said.

``This is a very emotional and meaningful moment,’’ said Kwon Jeong-sook, a housewife from Kyonggi Province, as she received prizes for being the 1 millionth South Korean visitor to this scenic mountain resort.

Hyundai Asan had operated ferries carrying tourists via the East Sea since Nov. 1998, but ferry transport ended in Jan. 2004 when the overland routes were launched.

``We faced a lot of problems since we first brought South Korean tourists to Mt. Kumgang in 1998,’’ the company said in a statement. ``This moment wouldn’t have come without strong inter-Korean efforts to keep this tour program alive. Now the Mt. Kumgang area is being turned into a huge resort complex, in which families can enjoy various recreational activities.’’

When the tour program began amid warming inter-Korean relations, the company expected more than 500,000 South Koreans to visit the area annually. But the program suffered setbacks due to tensions over the North’s nuclear programs and other factors.

By 2004, a total of 557,681 South Koreans had visited Mt. Kumgang by ferry. In an effort to draw more tourists to the Mt. Kumgang area, the South Korean government passed a bill aimed at promoting investment and developing tour programs.

In 2003, Hyundai Asan opened overland-routes, initiated electronic payment systems to promote credit card use in the resort area and launched a family sleigh course. The following year, construction began for a golf course, and the North began providing food and other services for South Korean tourists.

``There are uncertainties resulting from the nuclear talks and some political matters, but South-North tourism cooperation has been going quite well,’’ a Hyundai Asan official said. ``South and North Korea have agreed to keep civil exchanges in contact regardless of political and diplomatic situations. We believe the policy will be protected under any circumstances.’’

Korea Broadcasting System, South Korea’s state-run broadcasting company, will hold a concert here today as part of efforts to promote inter-Korean tourism cooperation. Several popular singers from the South will attend while Pyongyang plans to send a team of acrobats and other entertainers.

In a related development, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) yesterday announced that customs procedures for visitors to Mt. Kumgang will be simplified as well as business people visiting the Kaesong Industrial Compex in the North.

The measure is also expected to help boost the number of visitors to the North Korean resort, the KCS said.

For a quicker entry and exit, the office said it will omit or simplify an x-ray investigation process over mobile phones carried by South and North Korean travelers and business people.

Furthermore, the KCS will discuss a plan with the Ministry of Unification on whether to offer a free pass to South Korean visitors to the North who hold radio frequency identification (RFID) cards from next year.

The RFID is a method of remotely storing and retrieving data using devices called RFID tags/transponders.

jj@koreatimes.co.kr