First of all, I'm not sure how the resort's name got through the Marketing Department, but the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has opened a resort to attract foreign tourist dollars. The resort is called "Mt. Kumgang." Perhaps they're working on a fireworks festival they'll call the Mt. Kumgang Bang. Or a slogan: Mt. Kumgang before Kumgang mounts you.
Whatever, I'm not convinced that the North Koreans grasp the whole idea of "vacation resort," given that they've just done the following:
The Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea adopted three more regulations related to the operation of the Mt. Kumgang tourist zone in May following April. "The Regulation on Establishing and Operating the Mt. Kumgang Tourist Zone Management Institution," "The Customs Regulation for the Mt. Kumgang Tourist Zone" and "The Regulation on Entry and Exit, Stay and Residence in the Mt. Kumgang Tourist Zone" were adopted according to the April 29 decisions.
Party on, dude!
The Mt. Kumgang (I laugh every time I type it) tourist zone, which is no doubt lovely, recently hosted a meeting of Korean peasants, which is reported here on the official North Korean propaganda website. The reporting on the peasant meeting gives but a glimpse of the many activities available to Mt. Kumgang visitors:
Peasants of the north and the south divided into "National Independence" and "National Cooperation" teams had Korean wrestling games, a tug of war, a running with water jar on head, a dribbling ball inside ring, and other folk games and a Samcholli race for reunification.
Sadly, it is apparent that Mt. Kumgang is not the tourist Mecca its developers had hoped, according to this interestingly translated article in Asia Times:
As of this month, he said, Hyundai Asan was forced to halt operations of two of the four cruise ships that transport passengers to North Korea because there isn't enough customers. The official pointed out that if nothing concrete is reached, operations for the remaining two ships might be placed in jeopardy.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il recently visited Mt. Kumgang to buoy the flagging spirits of, apparently, everyone connected with Mt. Kumgang from either side of the scenic DMZ. While visiting the resort, Kim showed that he's one Stalinist who knows how to relax:
Jong Mong Hon expressed profound gratitude to Kim Jong Il for sparing time to visit Hyundai Asan's workplace despite pressure of time and give a pep-talk to it and saying precious words on promoting north-south reconciliation and cooperation. At the end of the inspection Kim Jong Il hosted a luncheon in honor of chairman Jong Mong Hon and his party and had a souvenir picture taken with them.
What does it say about North Korea that getting a souvenir picture taken at a resort is worthy of mention in a press release?
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