By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
South Korean and foreign visitors will be allowed to cross the de-militarized zone (DMZ), the border between South and North Korea, in their own cars to visit Mt. Geumgang starting March 17.
Hyundai Asan, the operator of package tours to the scenic resort on the East Coast, said Friday that it has reached an agreement with the North Korean authorities for the overland tour program.
Company officials said that the private-car tour came in response to complaints by some customers about the limitations they faced in group tours, which use chartered buses.
``We expect this new tour product will meet the demand for a more convenient trip to Mt. Geumgang,’’ Hyundai Asan spokesman Roh Ji-hwan said.
Currently, only 20 vehicles ― with up to 12 seats each ― are allowed for the three-day tours. Visitors have to reach Goseong in Gangwon Province by 11:30 a.m. and cross the heavily fortified border for inspection at the North Korean CIQ office at 2:10 p.m.
Under the new system, once visitors arrive at the hotel in the resort, they will have to leave their cars there and use buses to look around major tour sites because of the lack of roads and parking areas.
Hyundai Asan has already started taking reservations. At the moment, weekend schedules have been fully booked until the end of May, according to the company. The new private-car tours cost 340,000 won ($355.9) per person.
``There is no prohibition on the nationality of the visitors. So, we welcome foreign customers who want to drive their own cars to visit the beautiful mountain,’’ Roh said.
Hyundai Asan began the Mt. Geumgang tour project in 1998 using ships. North Korea allowed a land route in 2003 and is set to open the highest peak of Biro-bong, which is 1,638 meters high, from April.
Mt. Geumgang, which has long held both aesthetic and spiritual allure for Koreans, is divided into three parts: Naegeumgang (inner, western part), Oegeumgang (outer, eastern part) and Haegeumgang (seashore part).
Company executives expect that the accumulated number of visitors will exceed 2 million this year, when the tour project marks its 10th anniversary.
Hyundai Asan is operating another tour program to Gaeseong, an ancient city in the western part of the peninsula just north of the border, and is also pushing for a new project to Mt. Baekdu, which lies on the border between North Korea and China, starting this spring.