North ferryboat to make historic port call in Busan

BUSAN -- Mangyeongbong No. 92, the ferry carrying a group of North Korean fans to the 14th Asian Games, will arrive at the Busan Ferry Terminal on Saturday. It is the first time since the division of the two Koreas for a ferry from the North to enter the South Korean port. The ferry will also be used as lodging for the North Korean athletes during the Games.

The ship will reportedly carry 362 passengers, including a 150-member brass band and 15 reporters. Included in the cheering squad are the members of the Pyeongyang Performance Troupe, who appeared in the South last August at a National Liberation Day celebration.

“About 300 of the supporters and band members are women reportedly selected for their ‘youthful and alluring presence,’” a Unification Ministry aide said.

Mangyeongbong is a cargo-passenger ship that has transported freight and leading members of Chochongryon, a pro-North Korea association of Korean residents in Japan, between the North and Japan. The ship was built on the orders of Kim Jong-il who said, “Ethnic Koreans from Japan who are visiting home need to be able to rest in the ship as they would in a hotel.” The ferry travels between Wonsan in North Korea and Japan’s Nigata Port twice a month.

At eight-stories tall, the ferry houses a large restaurant, karaoke parlor, a film screening room, cafe, duty-free shop, video room and a bathhouse. Karaoke is reportedly a popular onboard activity for the Korean-Japanese passengers.

“The journey between Wonsan Port and the Busan Ferry Terminal is expected to take 19 hours,” Captain Jang Chang-young, who will pilot the Mangyeongbong, told the Joseon Sinbo, a pro-North Korean paper in Japan.

by Jung Chang-hyun