Newsgallery
Inside the eerie North Korean ghost town built as a tourist resort by Hyundai but abandoned when a South Korean visitor was shot
The Mount Kumgang tourist complex was built in 1998 and welcomed over 2 million holidaymakers, but in 2008 a tourist from the south was killed by soldiers and it has sat empty ever since
The road leading to Kumgang, which was built for tourists and is still sealed off all along by a high green wire fence, so local people can not access the area and the tourist complex. A billboard just before arriving says that Seoul is only 64 km away (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)1 of 17 
Hyundai paid a fee of $1billion to the North Korean government for 50 years of exclusivity on the site, but now the complex entrance looks like the giant empty car park of a supermarket (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)2 of 17 
Kumgang resort attracted nearly 2 million South Korean tourists from 1998 to 2008. In July 2008 a South Korean tourist, Miss Park Wang-ja, was shot dead there and South Korea decided to stop all tours in North Korea (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)3 of 17 ![]()
The North Korean government said the tourist entered the military zone, and ignored the warnings from the North Korean soldiers. So in retaliation, North Korea decided to seize the whole tourist complex. (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)4 of 17 ![]()
The cost of the 500-square kilometre complex was $400million, including hotels, a spa, a tourism office, a golf course, a supermarket and a clinic. A lounge in the near-deserted resort with comfortable sofas and a huge plasma TV shows a war propaganda movie. (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)5 of 17 ![]()
Haegeumgang floating hotel. The 90 meter floating structure has travelled over 13,000 km to arrive in North Korea. Its original location was in the Great Barrier Reef, then it moved to Vietnam and in 2000 Hyundai decided to use it for the Kumgang Tourism Project. $20million of investment was lost in this hotel (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)6 of 17 ![]()
The bus stop on the road to Haegeumgang floating hotel, but there have been no buses since 2008 (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)7 of 17 ![]()
Houses that have been seized by the North Korean government (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)8 of 17 ![]()
A sign on a door that shows the house has been seized (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)9 of 17 ![]()
A billboard shows the complex as it should have been. North Korea is trying to find new investors but it seems unlikely in the current climate (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)10 of 17 ![]()
Hyundai even built a fire station in the complex. All signs of South Korean companies have been deleted. In the elevator hotel, the Samsung logo has been hidden by a scotch tape (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)11 of 17 ![]()
A range of beauty products for sale in the resort that North Korean women from Pyongyang may dream of - but only the elite can access (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)12 of 17 ![]()
The main attraction is the supermarket, invested in by a Hong Kong company. Inside, it is surprisingly modern. But despite two smiling sales assistants there are no customers (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)13 of 17 ![]()
Kumgang was also the place where hundreds of separated North and South Korean relatives met for the first time in decades (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)14 of 17 ![]()
The scenery is wonderful, with mountain peaks and pine forests. Samil Lake, shown here, is an unspoilt spot (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)15 of 17 ![]()
A brand new coffee shop, totally abandoned (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)16 of 17 ![]()
The North Koreans believe the Diamond Mountains surrounding the the complex are sacred (Image: Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)17 of 17
