By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Competition is getting fierce among local airlines to grab the business opportunity in the Mt. Baekdu tourism project as Hyundai Asan, the main operator, gears up for the official launch in May.
According to industry sources Monday, Hyundai Asan has been discussing possible flights to the mountain on the border area between North Korea and China along with some minor airlines as well as the country’s flagship carriers.
In particular, the opportunity seems open to minor firms such as Jeju Air and Hansung Airlines, which provide low-priced flights, as planes with around 100 seats are most suitable for the Samjiyeon Airport ― the only airport to Mt. Baekdu ― which has a narrow runway.
Officials from Jeju Air and Hansung Airlines have already contacted Hyundai Asan employees over the matter.
``We met to discuss the Mt. Baekdu tourism project and agreed on the need for a close cooperation,’’ Jeju Air President Koh Young-sup, who met Hyundai Asan CEO Yoon Man-joon in early January, told Yonhap News.
In the meantime, Korean Air holds a firm position to be selected taking into account the symbol of the tourism project. Asiana Airlines also has paid keen attention to the project.
But the selection of airlines is in a ``stage of consideration,’’ according to Hyundai Asan.
``The opportunities are open. But there is nothing concrete that has been fixed,’’ a Hyundai Asan spokesman told The Korea Times. ``Even the air route has not been decided yet.’’
A direct air route, either over the West Sea or East Sea, will have to be decided before the selection of the carrier.
Hyundai Asan said that it has been stepping up preparations for the official launch, currently set for May. Hence, the competition is expected to get even more ferocious in the coming months.
A unit of Hyundai Group, the company has been engaged in various cross-border economic projects with North Korea including tourism programs to Mt. Geumgang and Gaeseong, an ancient capital city.
It now is considering a comprehensive tour program that links Mt. Geumgang, Gaeseong and Mt. Baekdu, even including Pyongyang, to attract more South Korean tourists.
Mt. Baekdu, seated at the northern tip of the Korean Peninsula, has been a symbol of national spirit and unification along with Mt. Halla on South Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju.
Now on the borderline between North Korea and China, the 2,744-meter mountain has been shared by the two states in modern times. Some 100,000 South Koreans visit what the Chinese people call ``Mt. Changbai’’ every year from the Chinese side.
Industry sources expect that, once the direct tour route opens between the two Koreas, people could enjoy the grandiose scenery of the auspicious mountain, including the Cheongun Rocks and Baekdu Falls.