Packages for travel to South, North Korea popular among Americans: tour agency
LOS ANGELES, May 17 (Yonhap) -- New tour packages for sightseeing in the divided Koreas are popular in the United States despite their high prices, a local office of South Korea's state-run tourism promotion agency said Thursday.

The Korea National Tourism Organization has recently begun selling new packages covering tourist spots in both South and North Korea as well as the heavily armed demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas, the Los Angeles office said.

Jointly produced by Geographic Expeditions, a San Francisco-based U.S. travel agency, the packages offer a 10-day trip to Seoul, Gyeongju and Haein Temple in South Korea, Kaesong and Pyongyang in North Korea as well as the DMZ.

Despite high prices ranging from US$6,595 to $6,995 excluding round-trip airfare, the packages sell well, with 32 people having made reservations as of Friday last week for departures in August and September, it added.

"We hope this will become a chance to open the way for releasing high-value-added packages covering tours of Korean culture and history in the mainstream U.S. market," said Lee Jae-gyeong, chief of the office.

Yonhap News, South Korea