Located close to North Korea, Gangwon-do is a key area for cross-border cooperation.
One of the region's major industries used to be the Geumgang tours, which has been suspended for several years now.
The province is urgently calling for its resumption.
Lee Kyung-eun has the full story.
Gangwon-do Province has called for the prompt normalization of the Mount Geumgang tours, saying it is a matter of people's livelihoods.
At a foreign press conference on Tuesday,… the governor of Gangwon-do Province urged the two Koreas and the international community to support the resumption of the tours.
Leading this movement is the Geumgang Investment Company Association, which has been organized by the provincial government along with local residents and companies that were directly affected by the suspension.
Their main concern is economic damage.
The suspension in 2008 forced them to shut down all their related businesses, causing 340 million U.S. dollars of losses to the local economy and 1.3 billion dollars of losses for related companies.
They also argue that the tours have now become an even more complicated political issue as Gangwon-do Province's loss was China's gain.
Some 1.2 million Chinese visit the North each year, which gives China plenty of leverage over the regime.
Governor Choi Moon-soon also emphasized the crucial role the tours play toward peace on the Korean Peninsula.
"Korea's peace process rapidly developed after the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and its biggest legacy was peace on the Korean Peninsula. We should keep the momentum by reopening the Mount Geumgang tours."
Faced with these urgent needs, the association said it's important to raise citizen's awareness in the South.
"Many people think that the tours only benefit the North, but it's actually a co-prosperity project. We should let people know that our local companies doing business there bring cash back home while giving certain amount of commission to the North."
Meanwhile, the association plans to encourage a people's petition, which they will bring forward to the UN and the U.S.
International support is vital as sanctions on the North prohibit all joint business between the two Koreas.
But the major obstacle will be North Korea.
And this obstacle seems difficult to overcome given the stalled denuclearization talks and the regime's recent order to demolish the South's facilities.
"Mount Geumgang is a place where various complex interests are intertwined.
So, for the tours to actually resume, every interest group has to work with other side and be willing to make concessions."
Lee Kyung-eun, Arirang News.
