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Mount Kumgang () or the Kumgang Mountains is a mountain massif, with a summit, in Kangwŏn Province, North Korea. It is located on the east coast of the country, in an area of Kangwŏn Province formerly known as the Mount Kumgang Tourist Region, and is part of the Taebaek mountain range which runs along the east of the Korean Peninsula. The mountain is about from the South Korean city of Sokcho in Gangwon Province. In 2025, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kuryong Falls ("Nine Dragons Falls") in Kuryongyeon is one of the three major waterfalls in Korea along with Daeseung Falls in Seoraksan. It is 74 meters in height and 4 meters in width. The waterfall cliffs and the bottom are made of one granite mass. Bibbong Waterfall is 139 meters higher, and is named for its refreshing water stream. The rocks there are associated with unique legends.
In 1998, there were 15,500 tourists in November and December, in 1999 there were 148,000, and in 2000 213,000. In 2001 tourist numbers dropped to 58,000 amidst disagreements over the access over land. As of 2002, almost 500,000 had visited the Mount Kumgang Tourist Region. Tourist numbers then reached about 240,000 a year. In June 2005, Hyundai Asan announced the one millionth South Korean visit to the area.
The Mount Kumgang Tourist Region, developed by Hyundai Asan, was thought to be one way for the North Korean government to earn hard currency. The currency at the resort was neither the South Korean won nor the North Korean won, but the Renminbi and US dollar. Food and services to South Korean tourists were provided by some North Koreans. But most of the staff in the hotels are Chinese citizens of Korean heritage with Korean language skills. There had been plans to expand the site but as of late 2022 there were reports based on satellite imagery that the resort's facilities, including a golf course and a floating hotel, were being dismantled pursuant to directives from leader Kim Jong Un.
On the morning of July 11, 2008, a 53-year-old South-Korean tourist was shot and killed while walking on the resort's beach. Park Wang-ja entered a military area by crossing over a sand dune and was shot twice by North Korean soldiers. North Korea claimed that sentries had no choice but to shoot her because, despite their order to stop, she fled. South Korea demanded an on-the-spot survey, but North Korea declined it, claiming all the facts were clear and all responsibilities were the victim's and South Korea's. Due to the shooting, South Korea temporarily suspended all trips to Mount Kumgang.
In March 2010, the DPRK government warned of "extraordinary measures" if the tourism ban were not lifted. On April 23, 2010, the North Korean government seized 5 properties owned by South Korea at the resort, saying that it was done "in compensation for the damage the North side suffered due to the suspension of the tour for a long period." In seizing the properties, North Korea also alluded to the Baengnyeong incident, showing displeasure with South Korea blaming North Korea for the sinking of the ship.
Since April 2010, North Korea is now permitting companies to run tours from the North Korean side, making it appear increasingly unlikely that tours will be resumed from the South. However, on October 1, 2010, news reports said, "Red Cross officials from the two Koreas agreed Friday to hold reunions for families separated by the Korean War amid mixed signals from North Korea on easing tensions over the sinking of a South Korean warship. One hundred families from each country will attend the meetings from Oct. 30 to Nov. 5 at a hotel and reunion center at the North's scenic Diamond Mountain resort, Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said."
As of September 2011, North Korea has begun operating cruises directly from Rason in north-eastern North Korea, to the port in Mount Kumgang, offering visitors the chance to stay in the resorts previously run by the south. Although they are aimed primarily at Chinese guests, western companies are also offering the tours.
The division of the Korean peninsula in 1950 resulted in the South Korean people finding themselves unable to visit this beloved mountain for the better part of 50 years. The barbed-wire fence erected as part of the DMZ (Demilitarized zone) separating the two Koreas proved to be an obstacle stronger than any other barrier.
In 1894 the British writer Isabella Bird Bishop referred to it in her travelogue as "Diamond Mountain".
Kŭmgangsan is the subject of a 1962 South Korean folk song, Longing for Mt. Geumgang. It is also the setting of the 1973 North Korean revolutionary opera The Song of Mount Kumgang, and is a central motif in the South Korea TV drama Saimdang, Memoir of Colors.
In 2025, Kŭmgangsan was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
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