few tourists and sadness over divided korea at kim holiday villa - childrens costume jewellery

GOSEONG, South Korea (Reuters)-
The endless beaches and lush mountains make the border town a traditional playground for divided North and South Korean elites.
Now, it is trying to attract tourists, in part because of the fierce hostilities that have erupted on the militarized border a few kilometres away, and there is no realistic prospect of resulting in reunification. Kim Il-
Song, North Korea's most popular founder, launched 1950-
The Korean War, which killed more than a million people, enjoyed a seaside villa built for foreign missionaries when Japan occupied the Korean Peninsula.
The first president of the South has his own resort on the way to the picturesque lake.
Fewer and fewer holidaymakers are now pouring into the area, and even celebrating the 10 th anniversary of Kim's birthday with pomp and missiles in the north on Monday, has not raised interest.
"This is where the height is 1% --
Senior officials are on holiday . "
Sue, a guided tour of the air travel kiosk in the town of Goseong on a windy spring day.
"People just want to know why these people are here.
"Cross advocates
Border tourism is part of short-term travel
"Sunshine Policy" brings warmth to the north
South relations at the beginning of the millennium, said it was already in the north 30-year-
Old leader of Kim Jong Il
The grandson of the founder of the United Nations.
North Korea closed its co-operated Kaesong Industrial Park last week, they noted.
There are also reminders of Goseong's own suspended project --
An entertainment site on the border with Mount Kumgang closed in 2008 when a North Korean guard shot and killed a South Korean tourist.
Three or five groups of South Koreans fled the Cape.
"Kim Il-" stone layer
He and other Communist dignitaries spent their holidays here from 1948 to two years after the war broke out.
"How Will Kim Jong Un
If he came here, he wouldn't feel it?
He will want to catch this place as soon as possible, "Kim said.
The 67-year-old heei is a reluctant visitor at the urging of his wife.
"In these chaotic times, I feel sad and very sad to see the villa where Kim Il Sung is located. Sung stayed.
"After the end of the Korean War in 1953, the re-demarcated border placed it in South Korea, 11 km kilometers (seven miles)
From the border
There are few museums linked to the late leader in the villa.
The main exhibit is a mock bedroom with period costumes and worn out short outfitswave radio.
Sticking on the stairs outside is a blow.
Took a 1948 photo of his son, Kim Jong Un.
The late father of the current North Korean leader, il, sat next to a playmate, the son of a Soviet officer. Kim Jong-
I was six years old.
Located in a nearby parking lot for 100 people
A few strange cars, a few sightseeing cars.
A group of school children came here and they ran up the stairs to return in five minutes.
They pay little attention to the stall vendor Kim sang.
Kim, sullen, said he had not sold a pack of dried squid all morning.
Instead of bellicose rhetoric, he blamed frustration after the closure of the United industrial park in Kaesong.
"After the news broadcast, we lost about 70% of the tourists," he said . "SOLEMN SITE; K-
Hundreds of meters away, an information officer waits for visitors in a comfortable villa by the lake, once frequented by Syngman Rhine, south Korea's first leader, South Korea through 1950-53 war.
The villa had some presidential influence and was forced into exile in 1960.
Typewriters, books, calligraphy.
An officer said it was not allowed to take pictures because it was the army.
Control property.
The signs of the collapse of the Joint Tourism Vision abound.
Holiday complex of only 16 km kilometers (10 miles)
Spectacular sea views can be seen from the border, but there are obviously few tourists.
Its restaurant is closed and the decorations for the wedding reception are ready. A 15-
A few minutes north to the unified Observatory, visitors can view more Mountains from the rugged part of the DMZ --
Territory of North Korea-
In the distance.
The observatory is depicted as a solemn site, and the entrance is occupied by a memorial to the victims of war and large Catholic and Buddhist statues leading to churches and lecture halls.
A huge "unified" sign of the grass is printed in the NorthFacing the hillside.
But the image is fleeting. K-
Pop songs came from speakers outside the cafe, one in an abandoned train compartment.
Kiosks pavilion sells clothing jewelry, ice cream and merchandise from the north, including alcohol, herbs and mushrooms.
Veterans of the site have little hope of reconciliation as they gaze at an unused road and rail line that once took tourists north to the abandoned Mt.
Mount Kumgang tourist complex
"When you are young, you are not the same as when you are old.
He may have a bad temper.
He can start a war.
Hyuk refers to Kim Jong Un. un.
Zhao, 85, said he had disguised tasks at the border in his 1950 s to capture enemy soldiers.
He and other former agents thought there was little chance of unification.
Veteran Kang Tai-
Zhang, 84, is skeptical about the opportunity to visit his hometown in North Korea.
"This will not happen," he said . ".
Teenagers flock and many people travel at school, but their interest seems to be elsewhere.
"When I see North Korea on the news, I may be afraid for a while.
Then I don't think anything has happened, "said Jeon Da --min, 18.
"North Korea just doesn't get much attention.