By Ryu Jin
Korea Times Correspondent
GAESEONG ― Hyundai Asan, the South Korean operator of the Gaeseong tour project, expects more than 100,000 tourists would visit the ancient capital across the border next year.
``We expect an average of 300 people to visit this historic city everyday,’’ Hyundai Asan CEO Yoon Man-joon, who made a trip to the North Korean border city Wednesday, said. ``So I think more than 100,000 people could come here.’’
He added that his company would develop more tour routes to introduce other attractions such as the royal tombs and temples of the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), of which Gaeseong was the capital for about 500 years.
``We could also consider a two-day tour program in tandem with the increase of visitors later, though it is difficult at this moment,’’ he said. ``In that case, we would also have to set up more accommodation facilities.’’
The Gaeseong tour is the second inter-Korean tourism project by Hyundai Asan, a Hyundai Group affiliate, which began tours across the border to Mt. Geumgang on the east coast of the peninsula nine years ago.
Since October 1998, the mountain resort has attracted about 1.5 million tourists, mostly South Koreans. North Korea receives $50 out of every $300 per person for a three-day trip to the scenic mountains.
The one-day tour of Gaeseong, just a 90-minute drive from Seoul, costs 180,000 won ($195) per person with North Korea getting $100 for each person, according to Hyundai Asan.
South Korea has been seeking economic cooperation with North Korea in recent years as part of its effort to narrow the economic gap with the impoverished North and prepare for reunification. South Korea’s economy is about 35 times the size of the North’s.
Beside the tourism projects to Mt. Geumgang and Gaeseong, Hyundai Asan also plans to launch a tour program to Mt. Baekdu, which is located on the border between North Korea and China, as early as next May.
``We have just finished our first on-site inspection. But we could not conduct a close examination due to weather problems,’’ Yoon said, adding that more careful checks would be carried out next spring.
He stressed that North Korea, though it might be somewhat late in making decisions, did not fail to accept requests from his company on various economic projects as long as they were reasonable.