The tourism business at the inter-Korean industrial complex is expected to reach a milestone in October. The cumulative number of tourists that have visited the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea is forecast to surpass the 100,000 mark this month.

South Korean tourists began visiting the industrial complex on Dec. 5, 2007. Since then up to 300 tourists have been visiting the area on a daily basis, according to Hyundai Asan. It is a unit of the Hyundai Group conglomerate that runs the tourism business there. Hyundai Asan reportedly pays the North Korean government $100 for every South Korean tourist.

The tourism business at Gaeseong reportedly did not suffer significant downturns even after the shooting death last July of a South Korean tourist at Mount Geumgang resort, which had been another popular tourism destination in North Korea.

michaelha@koreatimes.co.kr