Border-area tourism hit by inter-Korean tension

Seen is a telescope placed at Imjingak Pavilion near the heavily guarded Demilitarized Zone in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. The city, which has attracted many tourists with its border-area tourism programs, has been facing difficulties due to outbreaks of African swine fever and COVID-19 in addition to growing inter-Korean tensions. / Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization

By Jun Ji-hye

Residents of Paju near the inter-Korean border are expressing concerns over possible further damage to their income as the heightened inter-Korean tension over anti-North Korea propaganda leaflets has led some to question when the city's tourist sites will be able open to visitors again, city officials said Friday.

The city in Gyeonggi Province has attracted many foreign and local tourists with tour programs in the region, such as tours to the Joint Security Area (JSA).

But life for those in the border city has been getting harder following a series of difficulties starting last year, such as the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak, the COVID-19 outbreak and the tension-ridden inter-Korean relations.

The border-area tourism of the city was suspended last Oct. 2, as part of the government's efforts to stop the spread of ASF in inter-Korean border areas.

The nation has been hit by an increasing number of ASF cases, with the first case reported in Paju on Sept. 16.

Then, the new coronavirus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, began to spread in Korea in January.

Paju city officials have made efforts to prevent virus infections in the region by, for example, disinfecting crowded areas, while local residents have staged several protests calling on the government to resume border-area tourism at the earliest possible date.

“We expected the government to allow the tourist sites in our city to resume operation at the end of this month, but when this can be done has become more uncertain after North Korea blew up the inter-Korean liaison office,” a city official said. “The ongoing uncertainty is hurting the local economy.”

The North demolished the inter-Korean liaison office in the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, Tuesday, denouncing a campaign carried out by North Korean defectors and activists who have been sending propaganda leaflets across the border attached to balloons.

This has led the number of police officers deployed to South Korean border areas to double this week.

The city was initially planning to begin operation of the “Imjingak Peace Gondola” in March, but has postponed the official opening several times due to the public health crisis and other unexpected circumstances.

The city began construction of the cable cars in a 32.7 billion won ($27 million) project in October 2018 in a bid to further vitalize border-area tourism. Construction was completed in January.