China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Inter-Korean summit hints at symbolic mountain project
PYONGYANG — At the famous resort of Kumgang mountain, several kilometers away from the demarcation line dividing the Korean Peninsula, an ocean linerturned-hotel is docked by a village catering to foreign and domestic tourists.
The hotel, named after the legendary mountain itself, looks as if it has been abandoned. Due to the ongoing suspension of tourists from the Republic of Korea, not a single guest from the country was seen inside the hotel, with only a few men loitering or fishing at the dock.
A few groups of tourists from China, Europe and Japan still visit the resort, which faces the ROK’s border. Telecommunication signals from the ROK are easily accessible.
Seemingly a reminder of the tensions encompassing the peninsula, the thundering “boom, boom” sound from shelling exercises can be heard in direct contrast to the beautiful scenery that is dotted with tiny islands and rocks embraced by the rhythmic lapping of soothing waves.
Kim, a 25-year-old tour guide, is a government employee whose job is to accompany tourists as they trek along an 8-kilometer mountain trail of fantastic rocks, falls, creeks, flower fields and forests.
National treasure
After many years in the job, Kim, who has only given her last name, speaks of the legends passed down through generations about the mountain, the pride of both countries on the Korean Peninsula.
“The mountain is our national treasure, full of stories from the ancient past familiar to ourselves and tourists from the south,” she said.
As senior officials from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and ROK met on Tuesday for their first ministerial-level meeting in two years, Kumgang mountain was mentioned by media as the site of a tourism project which would potentially see inter-Korean cooperation.
Apart from the DPRK athletes participating in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics next month, the two neighbors also agreed to hold military talks to ease tensions on the peninsula.
Over the past two decades, Pyongyang has built many resorts for foreign tourists, many of whom turn out to be from the ROK, eager to see the historical sites and natural wonders in the northern part of the peninsula.