A comprehensive look into heavenly Mt. Baekdu

By Chung Ah-young

Spanning the border between North Korea and China, Mt. Baekdu has been regarded as the “spirited mountain” or “divine mountain”— to which people claim their ancestral roots according to traditional mythical beliefs.

It continues to attract visitors for its scenic Heaven Lake, located within a caldera atop the mountain, and more recently, it is becoming the center of attention as geologists warn of the possibility of an eruption of its dormant volcano.

Despite Mt. Baekdu’s symbolic importance to South Korea, little is actually known about the mountain here due to the lack of academic resources and difficult access to the region. And more importantly, a volcanic eruption would have devastating results not only for the region but for South Korea as well: some 2 billion tons of water from Heaven Lake would be displaced, and volcanic ash could directly or indirectly affect the local agriculture, fisheries and air travel as well as entailing clean-up costs.

“Mt. Baekdu — Present and Future,” written by 13 experts and published by the Academy of Korean Studies, comprehensively covers the history, natural environment, ecology and human studies of the mountain. The book notably includes the latest materials collected by the North Korea Academy of Social Science.

It is the first publication to provide such all-encompassing information that spans from the scientific to the humanistic.

“There are only a handful of books about the mountain and they mostly deal with travel information. This book is a remarkable achievement that can help other scholars and those who are interested in the mountain conduct further research,” Kim Jung-bae, president of the Academy of Korean Studies, one of 13 writers of the book, said in a recent press conference.

The highest range in the Korean peninsula also has geopolitical significance as it has been entangled in border disputes with China. The mountain, known as Mt. Changbai in China, was used for the Northeast Asian Project, a Chinese regional study on Northeast Asia, which claimed Korea’s ancient Goguryeo Kingdom was part of China’s history.

Kim said that blueprints for the book were planned when he visited Mt. Baekdu back in 2005, while serving as president of the Goguryeo Research Foundation as part of an academic collaboration with North Korea.

The book reveals new discoveries from Kim’s visit, as he states in the prologue. First of all, Kim said that the name of the Heaven Lake (called “cheonji” in Korean), was coined by the Chinese.

In ancient Korean documents and maps, “daetaek” or “daeji,” which means a large pond, was widely used to refer to the lake rather than “cheonji.” Since a Chinese governmental official first used the name in his book during the Qing Dynasty after visiting the mountain in 1908, the name has been widely known to this day.

Also, the old site of Jongdeok Temple was found in the area. Although the religious origin of the temple is not exactly known, the structure, an octagonal pavilion that was established in 1928, appears to have been used for worshipping homegrown religions such as Cheonbulgyo or Daejonggyo.

The book introduces the mountain’s volcanic activities, which are mostly cited from Chinese sources. Some Chinese scholars predict that the volcanic eruption might occur between 2014 and 2015 but the book does not state an estimated date given that no further investigations have been made on the area’s geological features.

The book says that an eruption is usually preceded by signs such as a change of the magnetic field and electric resistance, among others. There will be warnings that indicate the imminent eruption through a frequent occurrence of these signs.

The issue came to attention in 1996 when world-renowned geologists took a field trip to the mountain for the 30th International Geological Congress and warned that Baekdu is a dangerous mountain with a possible eruption drawing near. Since then, China has set up observatories to watch for volcanic activity.

Since Baekdu had its worst eruption some 1,000 years ago, small-scale eruptions have been spotted infrequently — in 1403, 1668, 1702 and 1903. Beginning in 2002, there were tremor marks concentrated on the seismic center around Heaven Lake.

Between 2003 and 2005, more quakes were observed around the body of water. In 2004, some trees were found suddenly withered probably due to volcanic gas from magma chambers, which might have pushed up the temperature of the lake’s water. But in 2005, the frequency of the quakes decreased but the possibility of volcanic activity still remains.

The book says that it is difficult to conclude whether a possible eruption is imminent.

“Considering recent happenings, there is no doubt that Baekdu is a dangerous mountain that might erupt someday but we cannot say the exact time since we have to analyze the scientific observations such as consistently monitoring the magma plumbing system that shows the magma chambers’ vertical-bloating movements,” the book states.

The book also contains rare colorful photos of the landscape of the mountain from diverse angles, which have not been shown to the public before.