North Korea has unveiled plans to revoke a contract granting South Korea’s Hyundai Asan exclusive rights to operate package tours to Mt. Geumgang. As a result, the joint tourism project, the symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation and exchanges, is in danger of collapsing. A spokesman for the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, a North Korean state organ that oversees inter-Korean affairs, announced on April 8 that North Korea would cancel Hyundai Asan’s sole rights over tourism at the mountain. As for the reason, the spokesman said there was little possibility that the company would restart the tours. Upon declaring an end to the firm’s monopoly rights, North Korea re-adjusted the scope of its business activities. That is, the North will allow Hyundai to run tours to Mt. Geumgang solely for South Koreans, while Pyongyang may entrust an overseas business firm with tours to the mountain via North Korea. The North also argued that previous negotiations with Hyundai came to an impasse due to the South Korean government’s meddling, shifting the responsibility to Seoul. Dr. Cho Bong-hyeon, a researcher at the Industrial Bank of Korea Economic Research Institute, points out that North Korea’s unilateral cancellation of a contract on Mt. Geumgang tours flies in the face of international practices.

North Korea’s termination of the exclusive contract with Hyundai on Geumgang tours is considered an unusually touchy action. Hyundai Asan paid 500 million dollars to the North in return for the exclusive rights to operate tourism business to Mt. Geumgang for 50 years. The joint tour program came to a halt in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean tourist at the mountain resort. North Korea has refused to accept Seoul’s demand for the preconditions for resuming the tour. So, North Korea is the core reason behind the stalled tour program. But the North puts the blame on South Korea, moving to strip Hyundai of the tourism rights and operate the tours on its own authority. The unilateral decision violates the agreements between Hyundai and North Korea as well as those between the authorities of the two Koreas. Also, it goes against international norms, under which no business operators breach a contract unilaterally. Such a rash act clearly runs counter to international laws and practices.

However, North Korea argues that its decision does not violate the agreements between the authorities of the two Koreas. It also claims that under international laws and relations, one party is entitled to the right to declare a contract null and void if it suffers a loss because the other party does not carry out its duties. What are the true intentions behind Pyongyang’s move?

North Korea didn’t clearly specify why it would cancel the agreement but we can presume that there are complex reasons. It seems that North Korea had the motive of restarting the tour program quickly by pressuring South Korea. With the impoverished North suffering from severe economic difficulties, the resumption of the tours would guarantee a major source of income. For that reason, the North is threatening to pass over the tourism rights to overseas businesses unless the South resumes the tours promptly. North Korea can’t leave this matter unsettled for a long time, so I imagine it will seek to attract Chinese tourists. The North then needs to justify its action. At present, North Korea is tightly restricted in earning dollars, due to international sanctions. The communist nation is trying to bring in dollars through tours, which are free from international sanctions.

In fact, the Mt. Geumgang tour program has experienced many ups and downs in line with ever-changing inter-Korean relations. It has suffered setbacks, big and small, such as the two inter-Korean naval clashes on the West Sea in 1999 and in 2002, the internal conflict within Hyundai Group in 2000, dubbed “the war of princes,” and North Korea’s nuclear test in 2006. Nevertheless, the tour program continued to grow, with the accumulated number of tourists from 1998 to 2008 reaching 1.95 million. Unfortunately, the tour program was suspended in 2008 when South Korean tourist Park Wang-ja was shot to death at the mountain resort. The South Korean government has since demanded for an investigation of the incident, preventative measures and the assurance of the safety of tourists before resuming the tours. To make matters worse, however, North Korea confiscated and froze major South Korean facilities at Mt. Geumgang in April last year and launched military provocations against South Korea, as seen in the sinking of the Cheonan warship and the bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island. Experts are also concerned over economic losses that Hyundai Asan and its partner firms are sustaining due to the suspension of the tours.

The tour program has been halted for nearly three years, dealing a blow to both North and South Korea. The North can no longer earn dollars from the tours, and this affects the domestic economy. Hyundai Asan, for its part, has recorded 333 million dollars in losses since the tours were halted. Its partner firms, which used to run shops and restaurants in the mountain resort area, have also suffered massive losses of more than 113 million dollars. The stalled tour business has seriously affected the regional economy in Gangwon Province, too. Before traveling to Mt. Geumgang, tourists usually stayed one night in the province and used restaurants in the neighborhood. Losses incurred by the suspension of the operation of those accommodation facilities and restaurants are nearing 87 million dollars. As such, the impact of the stalled tour program on South Korean companies and the regional economy is enormous.

Meanwhile, the South Korean government has urged North Korea to immediately withdraw its decision, which it calls unacceptable. The government plans to examine necessary measures through consultations with Hyundai Asan and enlist international cooperation, including China. However, it’s hard to expect the resumption of the tours until an overall improvement in inter-Korean relations is made. Dr. Cho says North Korea must first change its attitude in a sincere manner.

The Mt. Geumgang tour business is a very crucial inter-Korean joint program that has led to reconciliation and cooperation between the two Koreas amid inter-Korean conflict and has also contributed to improving bilateral ties. The long suspension of the tour program is, therefore, deeply frustrating. North Korea must show its sincerity in any fashion. It is necessary for Pyongyang to accept Seoul’s three preconditions for resuming the tours as a sign of active cooperation. It is important to restart the tour program, of course, but the two sides should come up with follow-up measures aimed at guaranteeing the safety of tourists. Also, the tour program should not be suspended whenever a problem occurs. I think it’s necessary to allow international organizations to get involved in the tour program so it can be operated on a more consistent basis.

To restart the Mt. Geumgang tour project, the symbol of inter-Korean exchanges, North Korea should be more committed to addressing fundamental problems, including ensuring the safety of tourists, based on trust and sincerity. In doing so, North Korea should be able to win the confidence of the South Korean government and public.


[Interview] University Students Hold Exhibition about N. Korean Human Rights At the lobby of the National Assembly Members’ Office Building, located in Yeouido, Seoul, a special exhibition was held for two days from April 11. Entitled “There is No Love There,” the exhibition featured the theme of North Korean human rights. Notably, the event was organized by a group of South Korean university students to shed light on concentration camps in North Korea. In fact, a similar exhibit was held earlier in Insa-dong, central Seoul that drew positive responses from spectators. Witnessing the success, the student group decided to hold another exhibition, this time at the National Assembly. Let’s meet with Ha Im-suk, the head of Sage, a North Korean human rights students’ group at Handong Global University.

This student group was launched in 2008. At first, we simply read North Korea-related books and testimonies and talked about North Korea when we had time. With the purpose of sharing what we have learned with other people, we held a small exhibition in our school during the second semester last year. It was a huge success, and we came up to Seoul to hold additional exhibitions in various places, like Insa-dong, Samcheong-dong and now, even at the National Assembly. When we held the exhibit, at first, we were surprised to discover that so many people didn’t know about concentration camps in North Korea. Through this exhibition, we hope that spectators will learn about the term “concentration camp” at least.

The exhibit displayed a total of 80 pieces, including photos and line drawings highlighting the tragic lives of people at concentration camps as well as posters that students created themselves. For this event, the students conducted research on documentary records and data for more than six months and visited relevant organizations. In particular, the story of a North Korean defector who escaped a North Korean political prison camp and entered South Korea caught the attention of the students.

The story of a North Korean defector named Shin Dong-hyeok is exhibited here. He was born in a prison camp in North Korea and lived there for 24 years. There is a list of terms he came to learn at some point in his lifetime. The list indicates when and where he was taught each term. He says he heard the word “love” and discovered its meaning in South Korea for the first time in his life. His testimony struck a chord deep in our hearts. So, we came up with the title “There is No Love There” for this exhibition. All the group members empathized with the title.

It is said that the North Korean defector heard such common words as “happy,” “kind,” “pure” and “resist” for the first time in South Korea, indicating that there are no words of hope whatsoever in North Korean concentration camps. There, detainees learn as few words as possible needed for carrying out assigned work, being vulnerable to grueling forced labor and various types of violence. As more exhibitions are held to attract more people, Ha says she came to feel confident and hopeful that they could do something.

Before the exhibition, most of us simply thought that people were uninterested in the North Korean human rights issue. When holding the exhibition in Insa-dong, we thought we would be thankful if there were only 300 visitors a day. Witnessing the large number of spectators and the change in their perceptions, however, I discovered that South Koreans were not indifferent to human rights abuses in North Korea. Perhaps, there wasn’t sufficient information about the human rights issue that the general public could access easily. I saw hope that many people could raise their voices to call for an improvement in the human rights situation across the border.

To let many more people learn about the deplorable human rights violations in North Korea, the youth group is planning on holding additional exhibitions, sharing information through its Web site and forming more networks with societies in other universities. We hope the students’ constant efforts and challenges will bear fruit.