Last Monday marked the first year since the Mount Geumgang tourism program was suspended in the wake of the shooting death of a South Korean tourist. In the early morning hours of July 11th last year, South Korean tourist Park Wang-ja was shot dead by a North Korean soldier near the Mt. Geumgang resort. The South Korean government halted the Mt. Geumgang tour program in its demand for thorough investigation. However, North Korea barred the South Korean investigation team from inspecting the scene, thwarting any attempts to find out more about the killing and prolonging the travel ban. The suspension of the Mt. Geumgang tourism program has jeopardized the financial situation of the tour program operator, Hyundai Asan, and its contractors. Economist Jo Bong-hyun of the IBK Economic Research Institute estimates that the combined loss of Hyundai Asan and its contractors amounts to over 200 billion won or 150 million dollars.

Hyundai Asan must have suffered quite a loss since the Mt. Geumgang tourism program was suspended. Since the tour program was halted last July, the North Korean tourism overseer company has accumulated 160 billion won or 120 million dollars in revenue loss in just one year. There are also many restaurants, lodging accommodations, shops, and entertainment facilities run by small South Korean businesses in the Mt. Geumgang resort complex, and these businesses have also incurred 60 billion won or almost 46 million dollars in losses. These small enterprises are on the brink of bankruptcy because of the closed program. So Hyundai Asan formed a council of businesses in the Mt. Geumgang region to demand damage compensation from the government. The council is also urging the government to resume the tourism program to prevent massive bankruptcies.

These are not the only losses suffered due to the suspension of North Korean tour program. Goseong County in Gangwon Province, the last stopover for South Korean tourists before going over to the North, is also experiencing considerable hardship. According to the Goseong county government, as of late last year 24% of the restaurants along the main traffic route to North Korea closed down. Tourist-related businesses in this area suffered a damage of 30 billion won and roughly 300 people have lost their jobs. Experts say the financial situation for local businesses has likely become worse since late last year. So it’s no wonder Goseong residents are hoping for the government to reopen the tour route. But in light of domestic and external factors, the resumption of Mt. Geumgang tourism program remains rather doubtful.

I don’t think it will be easy. With a South Korean worker from the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in detention for over three months, the safety of South Korean civilians is the top priority for the South Korean government right now. I don’t think the tour program will resume unless North Korea allows a thorough investigation of the tourist shooting, vows to prevent similar incidents, and makes a public apology. To make matters worse, North Korea conducted long-distance missile tests and nuclear tests, forcing the UN Security Council to place tough sanctions on North Korea’s financial channels. These external factors are making the tour program resumption very unlikely for the moment.

North Korea’s recent test-firing of long-distance missiles and its second nuclear test have given South Korea reason to view the Mt. Geumgang tourism program with skepticism and distrust. At the presidential press conference with foreign journalists on July 7th President Lee Myung-bak spoke of the speculation that the financial assistance given to North Korea over the past 10 years has been diverted to its nuclear armament. Some people suspect that the president has indirectly targeted the North Korean tourism program and other inter-Korean cooperation projects for having possibly financed North Korea’s nuclear ambition. The only encouraging sign for the renewed tour program is the public opinion which still regards the Mt. Geumgang tourism project as the symbol of inter-Korean cooperation. The Hyundai Economic Research Institute recently conducted a survey on 507 Korean adults and 56% of the respondents replied that the Mt. Geumgang tourism project played a role in improving inter-Korean relations. Some North Korean experts stress the importance of the Mt. Geumgang project as a symbol of peace on the Korean Peninsula, arguing that cruise ships to North Korea continued to sail even during the 1999 naval conflict in the Yellow Sea.

The Mt. Geumgang tourism program began in 1998. So far, nearly 2 million South Koreans have visited the Geumgang area. Before the program was suspended, 340 thousand tourists visited Mt. Geumgang in 2007 alone. That’s about 1,000 people per day. It has to be admitted that the Mt. Geumgang tourism project helped ease tension between the two Koreas. The opening of the land route to Mt. Geumgang was particularly meaningful because South Koreans were allowed to cross the demilitarized zone to enter North Korea. The significance of Mt. Geumgang doesn’t end there, for it was used as the reunion site for separated families. Mt. Geumgang is, therefore, an important symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation and peace.

On the first anniversary of the killing the South Korean government again urged the North to investigate the truth, prevent the recurrence of similar incidents, and ensure the safety of South Korean citizens. The South Korean Ministry of National Defense spokesman reported, however, that the North has completely disregarded the South’s demands. IBK Economic Research Institute researcher Jo Bong-hyeon forecasts that the current stalemate will continue for a while and only efforts by both Koreas to hold dialogue will result in the resumption of the tourism project.

Mechanisms to ensure the safety of South Korean visitors in Mt. Geumgang must be put in place first. North Korea must be proactive about this issue. There also must be some additional measures to restart the Mt. Geumgang project, such as enhancing the financial transparency of tour program fees and government subsidies. Above all, however, the two sides must make continuous efforts to engage in a dialogue to lower the current level of tension between the South and the North.

The Mt. Geumgang tourism project was not merely a travel program, but a way for the two Koreas to communicate. Both South and North must avoid turning the project into a political issue, but approach it from an economic standpoint and with future-oriented vision.


[Interview] North Korean Buddhist Cuisine
A cookbook featuring Buddhist cuisine in the North Korean region has been published in South Korea. The book is the first of its kind to be released in South Korea. Titled North Korean Buddhist Cuisine, it was written by Buddhist monk Jeongsan of the Taego order of Korean Buddhism. Monk Jeongsan first learned about North Korea’s Buddhist cuisine 40 years ago from Venerable Myeongheo of Beomeo Temple.

I first entered the Buddhist priesthood at Beomeo Temple in Busan when I was 15 years old. Novice monks usually spend about three years making meals in the backyard. Then the word spread that I was a really good cook. I admit that I liked cooking. But there was one old monk who would complain about the food. I talked a lot with that monk and he taught me about the traditional Buddhist food. He used to travel often to North Korea before the armistice line was drawn, so he knew a lot about the Buddhist cuisine in North Korea.

In addition to the old monk, Jeongsan also learned from other monks from North Korea and kept records of North Korean Buddhist recipes. Then he got an opportunity to visit Bohyeon Temple in Mt. Myohyang in North Korea, where he got to compare and verify the recipes. The head monk of Bohyeon Temple was quite impressed to see the detailed record of North Korean Buddhist cuisine.

Bohyeon Temple is the largest Buddhist temple in North Korea. But unlike their South Korean counterparts, North Korean monks commute to the temple, so there is no kitchen in the temple. I showed my recipes to 17 monks at the temple and they confirmed that the recipes were indeed North Korean temple dishes. That’s how I came to publish this book.

The cookbook contains the recipes and nutritional information of some 60 different dishes from North Korean Buddhist temples. Many differences separate North Korean temple foods from South Korean ones. First of all, North Korean monks mostly used potatoes, buckwheat, mushrooms, and mountain herbs, and added corn, potato, sorghum, and beans to rice. Since the weather is cold in the northern region, they don’t use much seasoning like salt or pepper powder, so their dishes tend to be mild. Here’s monk Jeongsan to explain more.

North Korean food is like a country girl in modest clothes, not like city girls in fancy silk dresses. People in the North can’t get outside, because the weather is so cold and it snows a lot in winter. They usually store food for a long time and that food must be packed in nutrients. For instance, there’s kimchi passed down in Yujeom Temple, which contains Chinese bellflowers, lotus roots, mushrooms, and other nutritious root vegetables. Those ingredients are combined to create a very distinct flavor.

Monk Jeongsan emphasizes that preparing and eating Buddhist dishes is a process of gaining enlightenment and a part of Buddhist culture. This is why he runs a Buddhist restaurant in Insa-dong, Seoul to promote the traditional flavors of Korea. His restaurant has become so popular that it was listed as one of Asia’s top 10 restaurants by Wall Street Journal. He even holds classes on Buddhist cuisine at a Buddhist university every Wednesday. Monk Jeongsan plans to publish one more cookbook on North Korean Buddhist cuisine and incorporate more North Korean dishes into his restaurant menu. This enthusiastic and determined monk is not only preserving Korea’s tradition, but also bringing back a part of North Korean Buddhist culture that’s been lost for nearly six decades.