North Korea has mentioned the possibility of scrapping the inter-Korean contract on tourism to Mt. Geumgang, which has been suspended for 20 months. As a result, the inter-Korean joint programs on South Korean tours to the mountain resort and the historical city of Gaeseong are facing a serious crisis. North Korea’s Asia-Pacific Peace Committee said in a statement on March 4th that the North is forced to take extreme measures if the South Korean government continues to block the travel route. The statement also says the extreme measures include the cancellation of all agreements and contacts related to the tours and the seizure of South Korean real estate in tourist zones. North Korea has been desperate to resume the Mt. Geumgang tour project. So, why did the North make such an unexpected announcement? Most experts speculate that North Korea is pressuring the South in a bid to elicit a change from Seoul and to gain the upper hand at future negotiations. But Professor Ryu Gil-jae of the University of North Korean Studies has a different opinion.

North Korea appears to be “pressuring” South Korea on the surface, but I’d say the North is asking a favor. North Korea suffers from serious side effects of its botched currency reform, as the international community has been imposing strong sanctions against the North consistently. It’s no exaggeration to say that assistance from outside, other than from China, has virtually been cut off. To find a way out of the difficulties and ease the economic crunch, North Korea needs to restart tourism to Mt. Geumgang and Gaeseong.

No one feels more embarrassed by North Korea’s abrupt announcement than Hyundai Asan, which runs the North Korean tour businesses. The tour operator expressed its hope for the prompt resumption of the Mt. Geumgang tour, since North Korea’s statement said the safety of South Korean tourists would be completely guaranteed. Still, the company is baffled by the North’s bluster, as it has already sustained a heavy loss so far. It has lost 1 million dollars each month for facility management in the tourist site alone, with its combined losses in sales amounting to 230 million dollars. That caused layoffs and salary cuts in the company, and some 20 partner firms have also lost 80 million dollars in sales. In an effort to overcome the crisis, Hyundai Asan presented a written petition to the government in December 2008, calling for the normalization of inter-Korean ties. For now, the company is left with no choice but to watch the developments in authority-level dialogue between South and North Korea. But Professor Ryu predicts it won’t be easy for North Korea to actually cancel the tour contract because the communist country, too, will suffer from huge economic losses.

North Korea earns an estimated 50 to 60 million dollars annually from the tours to Mt. Geumgang and Gaeseong. The Mt. Geumgang tour program has been suspended for 20 months, causing a loss of more than 100 million dollars for North Korea. While making the threatening comments last week, North Korea also said other countries, including Hong Kong, are very interested in tours to the scenic mountain. That means North Korea could engage in the tour business with other foreign companies unless Hyundai Asan resumes the tour. This is considered a strong warning. But in reality, it’s hard to expect that tourism companies in foreign countries would replace the South Korean tour operator. I think North Korea employed such words to indirectly express its hope for the resumption of the Mt. Geumgang tour program.

Meanwhile, the South Korean government has clarified its firm position on the North’s threat. Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-seong said on March 5 that North Korea would violate not only bilateral agreements and North Korean domestic law but also contracts between Hyundai Asan and the North’s Asia-Pacific Peace Committee if the North unilaterally scraps tourism contracts. Seoul says it will be hard to restart the tours if South Korean tourists’ safety is not ensured. South Korea also stresses that it won’t propose holding dialogue unless North Korea changes its attitude. Concerns are rising that inter-Korean relations may chill once again, as the two sides remain divided on the resumption of the tour program and four South Koreans are being detained by Pyongyang. But Professor Ryu underlines that inter-Korean relations shouldn’t be assessed simply by the size of bilateral exchanges.

The current Seoul government does not think that inter-Korean relations will improve simply through brisk bilateral exchanges. I agree with that. If the two Koreas can advance their ties by continuing joint projects, the Seoul government may only focus on increasing the size of bilateral exchanges. But that’s not the case with South-North relations. I think the government needs to remain firm in its principle and maintain the present diplomatic frame when dealing with North Korea. For now, I don’t see any sign of worsening relations between the two Koreas. Inter-Korean relations will be restored quickly once the Mt. Geumgang tour program and other suspended joint projects restart.

The bone of contention is a systemic guarantee of South Korean tourists’ safety at the tourist sites in North Korea. More importantly, Professor Ryu thinks North Korea’s nuclear dismantlement and the lifting of international sanctions against the North will be an important factor influencing the actual resumption of the Mt. Geumgang tour.

Inter-Korean relations will see a major change when the diplomatic mood is mature enough to reconvene the six-party nuclear talks and when North Korea and the U.S. subsequently enter serious dialogue. If that happens, it’s possible that the U.N.-imposed sanctions on North Korea may be eased in some way. Those developments will create a favorable mood for a positive change in inter-Korean ties. I think the two Koreas will then be able to address the issue of the Mt. Geumgang tour.

The Geumgang tour program was considered a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation. Moving beyond political or military calculations, both South and North Korea must narrow their differing views on the resumption of the tour business so its original aims will remain intact.


[Interview] Former N. Korean Teachers Retrained as Mentors for Teenage Defectors
Last Saturday, March 6, a group of North Korean defectors who had worked as teachers in their home country were observing a class at the Shinseo Elementary School in Mok-dong, Yangcheon District in western Seoul. As soon as the class was over, the defector teachers showered their South Korean counterparts with questions. It seemed they were curious about every detail of the curriculum of the South Korean school. Since January this year, the Korean Educational Development Institute has been offering a training program called “NK Teacher Academy” for North Korean defectors who had worked in education in North Korea as teachers or professors. Under the program, the participants will be retrained as mentors, helping out teenage North Korean defectors who have a hard time keeping up with their studies at local schools and adjusting to South Korean society. Let’s listen to Choi Young-sil, a teacher from the Korea Educational Development Institute.

As a support center for teenage defectors was set up under the Korea Educational Development Institute, we were wondering how to educate the young newcomers from North Korea, especially those who fail to catch up with their South Korean classmates in school, who are ostracized by their peers and who dropped out of school. We realized North Korean parents might instruct their own children as teachers. Also, we wanted to give the defector parents an opportunity to work on something with hope. So we decided to train them as teachers. When completing the training program, the teachers will offer person-to-person mentoring.

Currently, the “NK Teacher Academy” provides 24 North Korean defectors with a three-month training program. Every Saturday, headmasters and teachers of local elementary and junior high schools teach the trainees about the educational system in South Korea and compare the different teaching methods of South and North Korea. It is the first ever attempt to retrain former North Korean teachers here in South Korea as new educational personnel.

The would-be teachers should be able to help North Korean students understand the differences between South and North Korea. To this end, the trainees spend seven hours learning the basic curriculum of South Korean schools. The most difficult subjects for North Korean students are the Korean language, mathematics and English. So the trainees have to complete the six-year elementary school curriculum, mostly focused on these three subjects. They will take an evaluation test after completing the course.

Three months may be too short a period to compare the South Korean curriculum with North Korea’s and learn teaching methods used in South Korea. While observing a class and listening attentively to South Korean teachers, however, the Northern teachers were able to get a firm grasp on the South Korean curriculum. Two defector teachers now share their opinions about how different South and North Korea are when it comes to education.

…It’s hard to find good teaching materials in North Korea, due to the poor educational environment. In contrast, TV sets, computers, the Internet and various other digital appliances are available in South Korean schools. I think the advanced tools are highly effective when teaching students.

…Most of all, the purpose of education is different. South Korea encourages students to be creative and independent, while education in North Korea is focused on promoting loyalty to the Party and the leader and strengthening the communist traditions. But it seems North Korean teachers are more responsible for their students than South Korean teachers are. Here, parents concentrate on private education so intensely that public education fails to play its intended role.

The teacher’s certificates they acquired in North Korea are not recognized in South Korea, and the completion of this academic course doesn’t mean they will become licensed teachers. But the education institute is considering utilizing them as instructors lecturing on unification issues and teachers in charge of teenage defectors from the North. Also, it will give some support to those hoping to prepare for the state-run teacher-recruiting exam. What’s more, the institute plans to select trainees for the second round of “NK Teacher Academy.” Here’s hoping that many more newcomers will be recognized as competent citizens who will lead a positive change, not as neighbors in need.