Volta
Economy18 November 1998

Start of Mount Geumgang Tours

After Chung Ju-yung crossed into North Korea with a herd of cattle, a ship carrying South Korean tourists sailed from Donghae for Mount Geumgang.

Chung Ju-yung's convoy of 501 cattle crossing Panmunjom to the North, 27 October 1998
Chung Ju-yung's convoy of 501 cattle crossing Panmunjom to the North, 27 October 1998

TSGT Renee' Sitler · Public domain · Source

The Kim Dae-jung government pursued reconciliation and cooperation with the North (the "Sunshine Policy"). In June 1998 Hyundai’s honorary chairman Chung Ju-yung crossed Panmunjom into North Korea with a herd of cattle, and on 18 November the cruise ship Kumgang sailed from Donghae, opening tours to Mount Geumgang; overland tours followed from 2003.

Tours were suspended in July 2008 after a tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier.

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States and rulers at the time
South Korea — President Kim Dae-jung
Places
Mount Geumgang, Panmunjom

People

  • Chung Ju-yung1915 – 2001

    leader · Founder of the Hyundai group; crossed Panmunjom with a herd of cattle in 1998 and opened the Mount Geumgang tours

  • Kim Dae-jung1924 – 2009

    related figure · 15th President (1998–2003), the first transfer of power to the opposition by election. Steered recovery from the currency crisis and held the first inter-Korean summit; Nobel Peace Prize 2000

Before and after

Earlier
1997 Currency Crisis and IMF Bailout
Later
2000 June 15th North–South Joint Declaration

Themes that include this event

  • Changing Unification Policies1948 – 2018

    From “march north” to the Panmunjom Declaration — inter-Korean relations from confrontation to dialogue, through joint statements and agreements to summits (up to 2018)