Government seeking to expand DMZ tours
The Chilsung Observatory in Hwacheon County / Courtesy of the Korea Tourism Organization
By Kang Seung-woo
The nation's tourism promotion agency is seeking to promote tour programs to the heavily fortified demilitarized zone (DMZ), as the tour destination is drawing more interest, sparked by the inter-Korean summit and the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), Thursday, it plans to beef up its efforts to trumpet the current DMZ programs operated by Hwacheon and Yanggu counties, both of which are located in Gangwon Province.
The DMZ, a four-kilometer-wide strip of land separating the two Koreas, vividly captures the scars and wounds of the Korean War; foreign tourists as well as Koreans have interest in it.
However, heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula due to North Korea's nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches had prevented people from visiting there before inter-Korean rapprochement came earlier this year. President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will hold a summit today at the border truce village of Panmunjeom.
Hwacheon runs a tour program featuring tours to Chilsung Observatory and Peace Dam that attracted more than 1,000 visitors since opening last year.
To keep the popularity alive, the tour program will be available twice a week, or Saturday and Sunday. Plus, if more than 20 visitors apply for the program on weekdays, they can also enjoy it, according to the KTO.
Yanggu also has two DMZ tour programs ― the punchbowl course and the dootayeon course. The punchbowl refers to the bowl-shaped Haean Valley named by United Nations Forces during the Korean War.
According to the KTO, it is in talks with the county office to make an ecological peace belt the two sides believe will preserve the environment and promote its cultural and ecological value.
To these ends, the KTO plans to host fan tours with social media supporters, tour agency officials, reporters and tour experts along with socially disadvantaged groups in May and June.
In addition, the KTO will launch an event to pick 80 people to go on the aforementioned tour programs free _ 40 for Hwacheon on May 5 and 40 for Yanggu on May 12.
Those who are interested in the events can apply from Saturday at
.
The KTO's promotion comes as the DMZ is the most popular tour destination among foreign visitors.
According to the KTO's February study, a half-day visit to the DMZ area was the most popular tour picked by foreigners through the travel website Viator.
In January, the KTO also said it would try to diversify its portfolio to stabilize and diversify the country's inbound tourism market this year. As part of its efforts, it has been seeking to develop more DMZ tour programs.
At the time, the KTO said it would integrate various DMZ tour policies and businesses operated by local governments, and train 150 guides specializing in DMZ tours.