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| Total Votes : 17 |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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 Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 4:46 pm Post subject: Package Tour to Kaesong |
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http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200712/200712060012.html
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Package Tours to Kaesong Get Underway
South Korean tourists are now able to visit the ordinary North Korean city of Kaesong, ancient capital of the Koryo Dynasty that ruled the peninsula between 918 and 1,392. Hyundai Asan started a one-day overland tour program to Kaesong on Wednesday with a first batch consisting of 229 tourists and 332 reporters and various officials.
Asan�s second regular package program to North Korea comes nine years after it launched tours to Mt. Kumgang in November 1998, and two years and four months after the pilot trip to the city in August 2005. What distinguishes the Kaesong from the Mt. Kumgang program is that it offers a glimpse of the ordinary life of North Koreans. Although North Korea does not allow tourists to approach citizens, the South Koreans said being able to see ordinary people and houses was still interesting.
The program consists of Pagyon Falls, the Koryo Museum and Seonjuk Bridge. The first stop in the morning was Pagyon Falls, 30 minutes by bus from downtown Kaesong. For lunch, there was a traditional regional 13-dish meal at the Tongilgwan restaurant in downtown Kaesong that included rice, Sinseollo (a royal dish of meat and vegetables), and chicken, fish and pork dishes served in brassware.
After lunch it was the Seonjuk Bridge, the place where the late Koryo Dynasty statesman Jeong Mong-ju was murdered by men sent by Yi Bang-won, a son of Yi Seong-gye, who founded the Chosun Dynasty. Next up was the Koryo Museum housed in the Songgyungwan, the central institute of education in the Koryo Dynasty. The building was destroyed during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea in the 1950s and restored in the early 17th century. It now displays some 1,000 artifacts and is famous for two 500-year-old gingko trees and a 450-year-old zelkova tree.
Hyundai Asan CEO Yoon Man-joon said the company plans to take some 300 tourists to Kaesong daily except Monday and expects some 100,000 people will take the tour program every year. �We will see the extent of increase in the number of tourists and then consider operating tours of more than a day and accommodation,� he added. The one-day program costs W180,000 (US$1=W923) per person, $100 of which goes to the North. |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 7:04 pm Post subject: |
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If they allowed foreigners to go, I probably would go especially since my father-in-law is from Kaesong. I'd love to go with him and my wife.
Anyone have a link to specific info other then the article itself? |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 7:24 pm Post subject: |
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Here is the Hyandai Asan website, not much information in English though:
http://www.hyundai-asan.com/
I'll have my wife look at the Korean version later. |
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victorology
Joined: 10 Sep 2007
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| Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 7:25 pm Post subject: |
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I'd consider it but it's not really up there on my "to do" list.
About a month ago, I got back from Mt. Geumgang in North Korea. Enjoyed the experience a lot but it was pretty expensive. |
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samd
Joined: 03 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 9:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Sounds awesome. |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 12:35 am Post subject: |
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For those that are interested, here is the info:
Dear *****,
Thank you for your interest in the Kaesong tour.
It will be a day tour departuring from Seoul, Korea at 05:30/05:50am and returning back to Seoul at around 19:00pm. There are tours everyday except for the Mondays.The bus fare will be 5,000 won for the round trip.
The cost for the tour will be 180,000 won which you can either tranfer the money to our account or pay by the credit card (Pleaes give us the credit card number, name of the owner of the card and expiry date).
I have to tell you that the tour guide will speak and explain everything in Korean.
If you are fine with this, then please pick any day you prefer then I will make reservation for you
Please send me your scanned color ID photo, scanned passport copy and your application form.
I am attaching the schedule and the application form with this email.
Thank you
Best regards,
Maria (Jin Joo) Kim
Hyundai Asan Corporation
Planning/ Foreign Investor Relations
12th floor, Hyundai Bldg. 140-2, Kye-dong,
Chongno-Gu, Seoul 110-793, Korea
Tel: 82-2-3669-4164
Fax: 82-2-3669-3689/3690
Email: [email protected]
website: www.hdasan.com / www.mtkumgang.com |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 12:37 am Post subject: |
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Here is the schedule:
A B C D
1 TIME PLACE DETAILS
2 SOUTH ~07:00 S.K CIQ Arrival at the S.K CIQ(Dorasan)
3 07:00~08:00 S.K CIQ Departure formailities at the S.K CIQ
4 08:00~08:15 S.K CIQ →N.K CIQ
5 NORTH 08:15~08:40 N.K CIQ Entry formailities at the N.K CIQ
6 08:40~12:00 Pakyon Falls Pakyon Falls / Kwanumsa Temple
※ Visiting Youngtongsa Temple or
Tomb of King Kongmin and Wanggon
can be done upon special request
7 12:00~13:00 Unification Restaurant/
Kaesong Folk Hotel Restaurant Lunch
(Kaesong special meal with
13 different side dishes)
8 13:00~16:30 Kaesong downtown Sungyang Lecture Hall, Sonjuk Bridge,
Koryo Museum
※ Via Kaesong Industrial Complex(KIC)
9 16:30~17:00 N.K CIQ Departure formailities at the N.K CIQ
10 SOUTH 17:00~17:15 N.K CIQ →S.K CIQ
11 17:15~17:45 S.K CIQ Entry formailities at the S.K CIQ
12 17:45~ Head home
13 * S.K: South Korea / N.K: North Korea
14 * CIQ: Customsm, Immigration, Quarantine |
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reactionary
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Location: korreia
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| Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 12:41 am Post subject: |
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| wouldn't go because, believe it or not, i've no interest in korean royal/dynastic history. maybe because i'm not a korean. same reason i've no interest in visiting the palaces in seoul. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 1:33 am Post subject: |
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| I'll wait for NK to begin to reform. Then I'd seriously consider contributing my money by going on that trip. |
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Samantha
Joined: 20 Jul 2006
Location: Jinan-dong Hwaseong
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| Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 2:10 am Post subject: |
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Sounds interesting but just want to double check....Americans are legally prohibited from going to North Korea right? We can't have a visa or entry/exit stamp from there in the passport. The same goes for Cuba, right?
If I were allowed to go and had the time/money to do it I probably would. The trip would make an interesting story to tell people about later. I wonder if they have any touristy, knick-knack crap.  (Or would that be to capitalistic money-grubbing western-like?) |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 2:49 am Post subject: |
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| Samantha wrote: |
| Sounds interesting but just want to double check....Americans are legally prohibited from going to North Korea right? We can't have a visa or entry/exit stamp from there in the passport. The same goes for Cuba, right? |
According to this, you can travel to North Korea. I think the thing is you can't import anything from there.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_988.html |
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Tony_Balony
Joined: 12 Apr 2007
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| Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 3:20 am Post subject: |
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| I have a bottle of Nork Soju. |
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Samantha
Joined: 20 Jul 2006
Location: Jinan-dong Hwaseong
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| Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 3:29 am Post subject: |
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| ok...if an American wanted to go on this trip then we'd have to hit Beijing get the visa, which would also require a visa for China just to get there. Then come back to Korea and take the trip up Kaesong. Very very complicated, probably not worth it. |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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| No, that is not true. That would be if you wanted to go on a regular tour. |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 8:25 pm Post subject: |
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Here's another follow up email I received:
We offer our tours to North Korea (currently, Mt. Kumgang tour and Kaesong tour) everyday around the year. Kaesong tours also run everyday except for the Mondays.
Tour to Kaesong will be a day tour departuring from Seoul, Korea at 05:30/05:50/06:00/06:10am and returning back to Seoul at around 19:00pm. There are tours everyday except for the Mondays.
To get to the gathering point (South Korean Dorasan CIQ)
① By shuttle bus
Departure point & Gathering Time:
Kangbuk Area ? 05:50 Kyedong (Anguk subway station Exit # 3 Hyundai Sports Center)
06:00 Gwanghwamun (Gwanghwamun Subway station Exit #7 in front of cafe
Twosome place)
Kangnam Area- 05:30 Jamshil Sports Complex (Sports complex subway station Exit # 6),
06:00 Apgujung (Hyundai Department Store parking lot)
Bus Fare: 5,000 korean won per person
Reservations:
For Kangbuk area, contact Daehwa 02-733-0017
For Kangnam area, contact Daewon 02-458-4514
② By car
* Please use the shuttle bus on the heavy rainy and snowy days.
Park at <Imjin River train station Parking lot> and take the shuttle bus to the gathering point (Free parking)
To get to <Imjin River train station Parking lot>
* Seoul Nam Gate ? Buckjae ? Munsan - Imjin River train station
(Takes 80 min)
* Kimpo Airport ? Hengju Bridge ? Jayuro Road? Munsan - Imjin River train station (Takes 40 min)
※ Take Unification road from Munsan (6km)
The cost for the Kaesong tour will be 180,000 won which you can either transfer the money to our account or pay by the credit card (Please give us the credit card number, name of the owner of the card and expiry date). The bus fare will be 5,000 won for the round trip.
I have to tell you that the tour guide will speak and explain everything in Korean.
If you are fine with this, then please pick any day you prefer then I will make reservation for you
Please send me your scanned color ID photo, scanned passport copy and your application form.
I will attach the schedule and the application form with this email.
You can also contact our English speaking travel agency, 'Go & See' at 82-2-6243-7071
[email protected] (Mr. Shim, Hyung-bo)
Or please call our call center at 02-3669-3000
They speak Korean so you can put your wife on the phone.
They will provide you better information than I do.
Thank you
Best regards,
Maria (Jin Joo) Kim
Hyundai Asan Corporation
Planning/ Foreign Investor Relations
12th floor, Hyundai Bldg. 140-2, Kye-dong,
Chongno-Gu, Seoul 110-793, Korea
Tel: 82-2-3669-4164
Fax: 82-2-3669-3689/3690
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.hdasan.com / www.mtkumgang.com |
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