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After North’s nuclear test, worries spread to N.K. mountain employees, travel agents
Jeong Ban-deok, chief executive of New Busan Tour, a mid-sized tourism company based in South Korea’s southern port city of Busan, is upset. His tours to North Korea’s Mt. Geumgang (Kumgang) have nearly halted after the North’s nuclear test on October 9. Jeong started the Mt. Geumgang bus tour service in July, the first tour company in Busan to offer such a package. But after the North’s test, telephone calls for reservations have nearly ceased. "It was just about to gain momentum," he said of his Mt. Geumgang tour service. "Of course, customers complained about the tight security and no nighttime activities when I started the business. However, recently, nine out of 10 customers were always satisfied. Hotel and entertainment facilities are improving and North Koreans are becoming more friendly toward South Korean tourists," Jeong said. The Mt. Geumgang tourism project is not only a concern for Hyundai Asan, the company that runs it. About 100 tourism companies are involved in Mt. Geumgang tour business, and 38 of them either invested capital or dispatch employees to the mountain. About 900 employees are subcontracted by Hyundai Asan; they serve as bus drivers, restaurant workers, and clerks at souvenir shops.But the subcontracted workers are facing a harsh reality this autumn. While they began operations for Mt. Geumgang because of security guarantees from the two Korean governments, all things are uncertain for now. After the nuclear test, tour cancellation rate by public officials rose to as much as 90 percent. Some subcontractors are beginning to tighten their belts by slashing the workforce. FMTECH, which had some 120 employees such as bus drivers and tour guides at the mountain, cut 40 of them. The company’s president, Sin Mu-song, said, "The most heartbreaking thing was to send back ethnic Koreans from China, who were very hard workers." The situation is worse for some 20 small-sized subcontractors providing laundry service and souvenir shops. A shopowner said, "If the government stops subsidizing, the sales of souvenirs or food will plunge." Still, the subcontractors highly assessed the potential of the Mt. Geumgang tour business. Jeong, a 33-year-old tourism veteran, said the North Korean mountain will become a worldwide tourist destination if the political matter is resolved and the mountain’s inner part is opened. While some politicians in the South accused their government of financially helping the Mt. Geumgang tourism business, some subcontractors disagreed. Kim In-Gyu, a businessman who invested 25 billion won into hotels and restaurants in the mountain, said the Mt. Geumgang business is similar to venture capitals. South Korea pays an average of US$50 per tourist to North Korea, he said, and the money is not a large amount, as it includes visa payment and entry fees for the mountain. Of course, their affinity for the Mt. Geumgang tourism business is not only for the money. A chief executive of a retail company based at the mountain said, "How could I easily point a gun at North Koreans, with whom I have become acquainted by sharing soju?" This is his answer, he said, whenever his friends show a wary attitude regarding his doing business at the North Korean mountain.
