Kaesong

Kaesŏng (개성, 開城) is a city in North Korea, near the DMZ and the South Korean border.

Culture and History

Kaesong is a small city and former capital of Koryo Dynasty (918 A.D. - 1392 A.D.). It is the only major city that changed hands between North and South Korea as a result of the Korean War. It is becoming increasingly well-known for the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a "special economic zone", developed by Hyundai Asan with the North Koreas. This zone now has over 10,000 North Korean workers in over a dozen brand-new factories owned by South Korean companies.

Travel to Kaesong - Visa Requirements

Kaesong is connected to Pyongyang by highway, about two and a half hours away. It is now (2007) connected to South Korea via road and rail through the DMZ, although these routes are not open freely but only to business, diplomatic and group tour traffic.

Formerly group tour buses running daily from Seoul were available through Hyundai-Asan, however this seems to have been stopped by North Korea in recent months, and it is unclear when/if they will become available again.

Tours and Getting around Kaesong

You can go to Kaesong from Seoul, South Korea on a group tour bus ride lasting approximately 2 hours.

For more information, contact the official travel agency, gonseekorea

Kaesong tourist attractions and sightseeing

Ancient temples and Koryo rulers' tombs.

• Nam Gate, or the South Gate, was built between 1391 and 1393, at the same time as the inner citadel of the walled city. The citadel used to have seven gates, but only Nam Gate is left. During the Korea War it was severely damaged and rebuilt in 1954.

• On a small hill near Nam Gate is the Students and Childrens’ Palace, a lesser version of the Children's Palace in Pyongyang.

• Sonjuk Bridge is a small stone bridge dating back to 1216. It is only 7 meters long and 2.5 meters wide. Lee, Bang Won, a son of first king of Chosun Dynasty and himself was the third king of the Chosun Dynasty, had his opponent Jong Mong Ju executed on this bridge in 1392. It is named after a bamboo that grew up beside the bridge.

• On a hill 13km outside Kaesong are the tombs of King Kongmin and his queen; from the tombs there is a nice view of the surrounding scenery.

Kaesong city tours

Kaesong souvenirs and shopping

Souvenirs such as ginseng, DPRK stamps, books written by Kim Il Sung and Kim Jung Il, and Korean handicrafts are available, and not expensive. Such stores accept US dollars, Euros and Chinese Yuan.

Kaesong Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

Kaesong nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

Kaesong cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

The majority of visitors are placed in the Kaesong Folk Hotel, which comprises traditional Korean houses and courtyards converted into a hotel. It has a small souvenir shop and restaurant. If you're not part of a tour group you might have the hotel all to yourself. It is located just a few blocks away from the Nam Gate.

Get out

• Panmunjom - surreal truce village on the border of North and South Korea

This page was last edited by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by Valtteri Päivinen, Walter L. Keats, Todd VerBeek, Ryan Holliday and Jani Patokallio, Wikitravel user(s) Jake73 and Janki and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license