[From Readers] National parks are overpriced

With a company of 40 people, I went mountain climbing to Mt. Songni in Boeun, North Chungchong Province, on Apr. 15. Arriving at the entrance of the mountain, I found that an entrance fee per person is 3,200 won. There is no discount rate for groups.

A clerk at the window of the booth explained that the entrance fee has gone up because it included the admission fee to see the Popchu Temple cultural properties. A free entry is available only for holders of Golden Age Passports, the clerk said.

After an hour of climbing, I went in a lavatory there, but it was very dirty inside. There are cobwebs spun everywhere, and there were no signs of cleaning. Despite collecting a high entrance fee, they did not keep a proper management of the lavatory. In national parks, ordinary cars are prohibited from entering, but taxis are allowed to frequent there without restrictions.

The authorities of the national parks and the culture property management should exert more effort to provide better service to the customers.

Kim Gil-Ja (Kuui-dong, Kwangjin-gu, Seoul)