The tour features the "Road of National Humility" and the "Road of Human Rights." / Graphic design by Cho Sang-won

The former Japanese General Government building site. / Korea Times file



By Lee Han-soo

The dark history that permeates Seoul's Mt. Namsan will be the basis of a new tourist attraction.

The "Dark Tour" will take visitors to places where cruel tragedies occurred. It will open in August 2018, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government Monday.

The tour features the "Road of National Humility" and the "Road of Human Rights."

The Road of National Humility includes the former Japanese General Government building site. The site housed the Japanese Governor-General of Korea during the Japanese colonial period (1910-45). It was destroyed in the Korean War (1950-1953).

The two-kilometer road starts at the former official residence site of the Japanese General Government and continues to the Joseon Jingu site.

As its name says, the tour will highlight the humility Korea suffered during the colonial period.

The Road of Human Rights runs for 930 meters. It starts at the former Korea Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) Section 6 site and continues to the KCIA Section 5 site.

The trail introduces visitors to the fear people felt during the military junta (1972-1981) under the Park Chung-hee regime.

"The Dark Tour has been planned to encourage people not to ignore the history of the disgraceful past around the mountain but to preserve it and recreate it," a Seoul city official told the JoongAng Ilbo. "We hope it becomes a place for history education and prevents such acts from ever happening again."

"Dark tourism" is common overseas. Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, where the Nazis massacred Jews during World War II, is one of the most popular dark tourism spots.



