Korea Times
Ryu Jin
7/6/2007
A campground in the Mt. Geumgang resort complex in North Korea will be open again for the hot summer season from July 10 to Aug. 25, according to Hyundai Asan, the South Korean operator of the tour program.
Visitors can spend two nights and three days on the Geumgang-san Beach in the scenic resort area at 180,000 won ($195) for an adult, which includes breakfasts and trips to the mountain area.
Seated at the lower edges of the mountain, the sandy beach stretches some 1.2 kilometers along the East Coast and can accommodate various sizes of tents for a combined number of about 250 to 300 campers per night.
Groups of visitors can sit around a campfire in the night after enjoying various daytime water activities such as motorboat, jet-sking and rock-climbing with additional fees. A pass for all the aquatic rides cost $25 per adult ($20 for a group of more than 30).
Mt. Geumgang, which has long held both aesthetic and spiritual allure for Koreans, can be divided into three parts: Naegeumgang (inner, western part), Oegeumgang (outer, eastern part) and Haegeumgang (seashore part).
Since the first tour to Mt. Geumgang in 1998, a growing number of visitors have made the trip from the South to the resort area. Hyundai Asan said the cumulative number of tourists exceeded 1.5 million in early June, after it began the new Naegeumgang tour.
The Geumgang-san Beach was open to South Korean visitors from 2002 and the campground has been available since 2005. Last year, however, it didn’t draw many visitors from the South due to the rainy spell as well as the political situation in the aftermath of North Korea’s missile tests.
“We expect a larger number of visitors would go camping in the Mt. Geumgang resort complex this year since inter-Korean ties are relatively good,’’ a Hyundai Asan spokesman said.
But he added cooking would be banned in the campground this year. “Campers were able to use portable burners for instant noodles last year,’’ he said. “However, cooking won’t be allowed this year for environmental and safety reasons. Visitors can use restaurants for lunch and dinner.’’
Usual prices for Mt. Geumgang are set from 420,000 won to 450,000 won including two nights hotel stay. But those for the camping tour are relatively lower though it also includes climbing the mountain.
