Kymgansan, or the ‘Diamond Mountains’, is a cluster of 12,000 mountain peaks that are both enchanting and inspire a primal sense of awe. This place is renowned for its folklore and legends: it is home to dragons, the guardians of this land, as well as princesses and fairies, and is also the site of the most ancient centres of Buddhist culture. Today, countless tourists come to admire its unspoilt natural beauty, as well as Lake Samilpho, which once enchanted an ancient Korean ruler…
A late Soviet popular science film recounting one of the natural wonders of the DPRK through myths and legends. Kumgangsan reflects Korea’s complex history: for centuries, the ‘Diamond Mountains’ were a refuge for Buddhists and a place of spiritual pilgrimage, whilst during the Korean War they sheltered guerrillas from the north. However, there is almost no political element in the film — it is, rather, a classic geographical and ethnographic essay, in which the beauty of the landscape and the diversity of the flora and fauna take centre stage.
