Will Korea Golf Association hold tournament in North Korea?

Korea Golf Association President Lee Jung-myung speaks during his inauguration ceremony at a hotel in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

Korea Golf Association President Lee Jung-myung has announced that he will seek to host an international tournament at a golf course on Mount Geumgang in North Korea, during a recent general assembly of the association.

Lee, who was appointed as the new chief of the association on Jan. 26, said that he was working to assess the viability of holding the International Golf Federation's (IGF) World Amateur Team Championships at the Ananti Golf Club ― a golf course his company owns on the scenic mountain in the North ― in 2025. The head of Emerson Pacific Group, which operates several golf courses including the Ananti Golf Club on Mount Geumgang, also said that he is talking with the Ministry of Unification about his idea.

Led by golf legend Annika Sorenstam, the IGF has held the tournament every two years since 1958. The venue for the 2025 event will be decided at the general assembly of the IGF in Paris in September 2022.

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"The realization of the tournament at the Ananti Golf Course in Mount Geumgang will make a great contribution to creating an atmosphere of reconciliation between the two Koreas," Lee said during the assembly at which his appointement ceremony was also held. "We are coordinating with the relevant ministries and will do our best to make it happen."

Key officials dealing with tourism exchanges with North Korea, such as Culture, Sport and Tourism Minister Park Yang-woo and Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho, attended the ceremony and expressed support for Lee's idea.

People play golf at Ananti Golf Club on Mount Geumgang, North Korea, in this June 2007 photo. Yonhap

The golf course has been closed since a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier in July 2008 and tours to the mountain were halted. "The golf course has not been used for 12 years, but it is in good condition. I believe it can be restored in about one month," Lee said in a local media interview. "North Korea is interested in attracting tourists from South Korea to some of its tourist attractions, such as Mount Geumgang and Masikryong Ski Resort."

Regarding the proposal, the unification ministry said on Thursday that it had not yet discussed the matter with Emerson, but would review the plan if the company asked for cooperation. "If an international golf competition is held at Mount Geumgang, it will help resume tourism to the mountain and improve inter-Korean relations," a ministry official said.

But there have yet to be any discussions on the topic with the North Korean authorities.

It remains to be seen how North Korea will respond to such an idea, given that Pyongyang has not shown any interest in reviving tourism projects proposed by Seoul.