Two Korean mountain jaunts: near but worlds apart



Columns Two Korean mountain jaunts: near but worlds apart A veteran North Korea watcher recalls two formative hikes he wrote about in the 1980s, on opposite sides of the DMZ Aidan Foster-Carter October 31, 2019 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Jhkangphoto Why does Mount Kumgang matter? Here’s what it means to me – and more importantly to many others, judging by the responses to the article below when it was first published. That was a long time ago: way back in 1986, on 16 October. A third of a century ago, indeed. Not many people visited North Korea in those days. I was on the first ever tourist group from the UK – though many of us had a more than just touristic interest. Unlike today, the wider public hardly knew or cared about the DPRK at that time. With no Internet to spread Kimist memes around the planet, and no nuclear issue, the ‘hermit Kimdom’ cliché had much truth. Why does Mount Kumgang matter? Here’s what it means to me – and more importantly to many others, judging by the responses to the article below when it was first published. That was a long time ago: way back in 1986, on 16 October. A third of a century ago, indeed. Not many people visited North Korea in those days. I was on the first ever tourist group from the UK – though many of us had a more than just touristic interest. Unlike today, the wider public hardly knew or cared about the DPRK at that time. With no Internet to spread Kimist memes around the planet, and no nuclear issue, the ‘hermit Kimdom’ cliché had much truth. Become a member for less than $5.75 per week. Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts. Subscribe now All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time. © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by And how should we address you in correspondence? One more step! Please check your inbox, for an email we just sent you, and click on the confirmation message in it to get subscribed to our Daily News Update. Trending

Columns

Two Korean mountain jaunts: near but worlds apart

A veteran North Korea watcher recalls two formative hikes he wrote about in the 1980s, on opposite sides of the DMZ

Aidan Foster-Carter October 31, 2019

Two Korean mountain jaunts: near but worlds apart

Jhkangphoto

Why does Mount Kumgang matter? Here’s what it means to me – and more importantly to many others, judging by the responses to the article below when it was first published. That was a long time ago: way back in 1986, on 16 October. A third of a century ago, indeed.

Not many people visited North Korea in those days. I was on the first ever tourist group from the UK – though many of us had a more than just touristic interest. Unlike today, the wider public hardly knew or cared about the DPRK at that time. With no Internet to spread Kimist memes around the planet, and no nuclear issue, the ‘hermit Kimdom’ cliché had much truth.