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THE NORTH KOREAN GHOST TOWN

KUMGANG
THE NORTH KOREAN GHOST TOWN

The first town USA will find on his way to invade NK will be this ghost town where HUnday lost 1 billion USD..

The Mount Kumgang tourist complex in North Korea, near the DMZ, was built in 1998 by the South Korean giant company Hyundai. The chaebol paid a fee of $1 billion to the North Korean government for 50 years of exclusivity. The cost of the 500-square kilometer complex was $400 million, including hotels, a spa, a fire station, a tourism office, a golf course, a supermarket, a clinic, tours in the mountain... Kumgang resort attracted nearly 2 millions south korean tourists from1998 to 2008.
In July 2008 a South Korean tourist, Miss Park Wang-ja, was shot dead there and South Korea decided to stop all the tours in North Korea. The North Korean government said the tourist entered the military zone, and ignored the warnings from the north korean soldiers.
So in retaliation, North Korea decided to seize the whole tourist complex. This decision was a real drama. Not for the touristic industry only, but for the separated families from the south and the north: Kumgang was also the place where hundreds of North and South Korean relatives were meeting each other for the first time in decades.
For those reasons, since 2008, Mount Kumgang complex has became a ghost town. Only very few western tourists could visit the area.

Photo shows: I ask for the toilets and i’m invited to go at the first floor. I discover a brand new coffee shop, totally abandoned, with design furniture, far from the north korean style. A seller has discreetly followed me and invites me to stop taking pics..
©Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media

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EXCLUSIVE - THE NORTH KOREAN GHOST TOWN
KUMGANG<br /> THE NORTH KOREAN GHOST TOWN<br /> <br /> The first town USA will find on his way to invade NK will be this ghost town where HUnday lost 1 billion USD..<br /> <br /> The Mount Kumgang tourist complex in North Korea, near the DMZ, was built in 1998 by the South Korean giant company Hyundai. The chaebol paid a fee of $1 billion to the North Korean government for 50 years of exclusivity. The cost of the 500-square kilometer complex was $400 million, including hotels, a spa, a fire station, a tourism office, a golf course, a supermarket, a clinic, tours in the mountain... Kumgang resort attracted nearly 2 millions south korean tourists from1998 to 2008.<br /> In July 2008 a South Korean tourist, Miss Park Wang-ja, was shot dead there and South Korea decided to stop all the tours in North Korea. The North Korean government said the tourist entered the military zone, and ignored the warnings from the north korean soldiers.<br /> So in retaliation, North Korea decided to seize the whole tourist complex. This decision was a real drama. Not for the touristic industry only, but for the separated families from the south and the north: Kumgang was also the place where hundreds of North and South Korean relatives were meeting each other for the first time in decades.<br /> For those reasons, since 2008, Mount Kumgang complex has became a ghost town. Only very few western tourists could visit the area.<br /> <br /> Photo shows: I ask for the toilets and i’m invited to go at the first floor. I discover a brand new coffee shop, totally abandoned, with design furniture, far from the north korean style. A seller has discreetly followed me and invites me to stop taking pics..<br /> ©Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media