The North-South Korea relationship is on tension again following the death of a South Korean tourist who was shot dead by the North Korean soldiers at the Kŭmgangsan holiday resort in North Korea.
The shooting incident occurred on Friday morning. The N.Koreans claimed that the 53-year-old woman had crossed deep into a fenced-off military area and ran away when a N.Korean soldier told her to halt… the soldier chased her and fired a warning shot before she was shot dead at around 5am.
Kŭmgangsan, or Mt Kumgang, is a tourist spot in North Korea. South Korean tourists have been allowed to visit Kŭmgangsan since 1998 but within a fenced zone; it’s a popular place for S.Koreans to take a glimpse of their northern neighbouring land.
The tragedy has caused outrage in the south, as the public is questioning the authenticity of N.Korea’s explanations and called for thorough investigations into the matter. North Korea on Saturday have expressed their regrets over the death, but has dismissed any wrong doings on their side.
From the current development, it seems like there are no other alternative explanations besides what the N.Koreans are saying… which would be a very unfortunate incident regardless. Rest in peace, Mdm Park.
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maybe she shouldn’t have walked away so far by herself?
there was once a group of tourists who went to visit a volcano, and there was a lady who was very excited and went really close to the hole.
then she fell in and couldn’t be rescued in time.
but why did that soldier have to shoot anyway?
what can a 53-year-old woman do?
he couldn’t have guessed that she was a tourist?
i’m shocked and frustrated too like the s. koreans.
such an innocent death…
There are many unanswered questions obviously… why did she cross the fence, or did she really cross it? The only valid argument is that the soldier could have done better than to open fire… but if everything was happening according to what the N.Koreans are claiming, we can’t really blame that soldier as well. It’s an unfortunate tragedy.
a sad story. the norht and south koreans are brothers and sisters, its sad that the war has separates them into two, and now open fire on each other for stupid reasons.
Depends on what direction she was headed. And was she running farther into the zone when he yelled halt or was she trying to run back to the fence? Could he thought she might be a spy sneaking into the north by way of the tourist location? Or was she just not very smart and didn’t realize she was inside the zone. Seems sort of odd though that she would cross a fence. It’s unfortunate that she got shot and it does create embarrasment for the north as well as create tensions.
Reminds me of the American girl who was murdered in Shanghai last week. It’s has been an embarrassment for the Shanghai police and another negative for China publicity before the olympics. Surprised that wasn’t reported here yet.
Anyway, very sorry for the lady in Korea and her family. Everyone would like to see the Koreas back together in peace and friends with the rest of the world.
To Anonymous…were you talking about the Canadian model who was stabbed to death in Shanghai?
Loki, sorry I didn’t mean to change the subject but yes that’s the one.
I can’t help but wonder how much longer the Korean divide is going to last. Sooner or later those twon regions have to mend relations. Wonder who will be Kim Jong Ill’s successor and how will they govern?
[...] http://yeinjee.com/2008/south-korean-tourist-shot-dead-by-north-korean-soldier/ [...]
She was running back to the resort; can’t blame her… who wouldn’t run away when we heard a gunfire. As said earlier, questions are… why did she cross the fence, and did she really wander into the wrong place?
Ya, I read about the model case too; there’s nothing political with the Shanghai case, and the last I read is that they already got the murderer (or at least a suspect). It’s another sad event, but crimes and murders happen everyday… it’s a sad fact of life.
That link said that the South Korean woman was shot at around 5AM…..in the morning???!!!…. That seems a little odd. It’s still pretty dark at 5 in the morning is it not? Maybe I’m reading into it wrong but seems a little odd.
maybe its the north’s way of showing they dont like lee myung bak
it’s even hard for two humans who have separated to mend their relation.
so how hard do you think it would be for two nations to mend their relation?
i know they’re supposed to be brothers and sisters.
some people might see them as one nation.
but maybe to some particular koreans, they are two different nations.
and the woman was shot at 5am?
that really is odd.
if it’s true, why would a tourist be in that area so early in the morning?
i don’t think the travel agency would arrange their tourists to get up so early.
i’m from canada, and i also heard about the death of that model.
the news said that the police suspect it was a robbing crime, but sadly, they also killed the girl.
this model is very pretty too.
i never thought about what anon#4 said, that this case is another negative event in china.
but it’s actually really true. i hope this won’t cause too much impact on the olympics.
bb, my thoughts exactly. Why is a tourist there on the grounds and crossing over a fence into a forbidden zone at 5 AM in the morning? Very strange. Also, it seems her mistake was that she didn’t stop when the guard yelled for her to stop. That’s what it read in the article anyway. Instead she took off running after he verbally called for her to stop, that’s when the soldier fired a warning shot and she still kept running. Then he shot her. It’s really too bad. I imagine she just panicked for what ever reason depending and she instantly ran without thinking. Like Yeinjee says ALOT of questions about this.
Then on the other hand….some might say it’s better to be killed trying to escape a North Korean guard when he’s coming after you rather than to be caught and detained in North Korea…..depending on your view of course.
Anon#9… it’s summer, 5am is probably the time when we can see an object around but couldn’t identify it as a woman or man.
According to the resort management, the lady wandered off by herself at around 4 or 4.30am. It’s not unusual for visitors to have an early walk, myself for example would wake up in early morning to catch the sunrise whenever I visit a beach…
It’s back to the old questions, why and how did she manage to get to the wrong place… and did she actually cross the restricted area?
wow, strange lady…
an early walk is normal, but not as early as 4am!
as a tourist, i don’t think she should’ve wandered off like that.
How can anyone blame this poor lady? Whatever the reason for her early morning stroll into forbidden territory, the soldier (assuming he was a good marksman) didn’t have to KILL her – he could have just shot her in the leg. Surely the death penalty, where it still exists, is only given after a trial and sentencing. And I’m sure her “crime” would not have been found to be one meriting death. I guess the NK still believe they are at war, since a truce was not signed. Nasty people!
South Korean have sent spies as tourists into North Korea territory numerous times. It was so obvious the South Koreans were at fault. I am glad the North Korean soldiers did the right thing and warned the south koreans.
And to those idiots who says North Korean and South Kroeans are brothers, stop insulting the real Koreans out there. The south koreans are nothing more than some fucking inbred bastards inbetween americans and japanese.
I’ve been to Mt. Goomgang. I’ve seen the fences and North Korean soldiers. I don’t see how the woman could be so foolish. The woman could have been on some kind of spying mission (South Koreans do this as often as they think they can get away with it. And I’m guessing the North does it, too.), or she simply made a foolish, fatal mistake. Only God knows. And God knows that Korean relations should not be allowed to get worse because one person did something foolish. But Cold Warriors who don’t want peace will try to use this tragic shooting to foment hatred and distrust, instead of compassion and understanding.
That’s absolutely asinine. How is the South supposed to infiltrate spies into the North in a culture where everyone is constantly monitored? They have to carry and present their state ID card wherever they go and their status is carefully recorded. They also don’t take South Korean defectors anymore, and haven’t since the 1950s. Trying to cross the border will get you shot from either side. The South has to deal with the fact that threats from the North come every day, and they’ve spent 30% of their GDP on building weapons specifically to annihilate South Korea for years, including a nuclear bomb, all while their people literally starve in the countryside. Even in the city the food situation is spartan but 1 in 10 citizens, male or female, is an armed soldier. Their concept of diplomacy is similarly Stalinist, composed entirely of feigned arrogance, open contempt and often outright threats in response to any attempt at negotiations from the US, while simultaneously barely supporting its starvation-level rations solely based on FREE food aid from the US and China, which if withdrawn would plunge the entire country into a immediate, severe famine the likes of which has not been seen since the dark days of Mao’s Great Leap Forward.