Um Hong-gil (; born September 14, 1960) is a South Korean mountaineer.
Climbing career He has led many South Korean summer expeditions to Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, where he has climbed South America's highest mountain several times.
In 2000, he climbed K2 (8,611m), which meant his team completed the mission to go up 14 peaks higher than 8,000 meters in altitude within 12 years."He finally climbed on K2" Kookmin Ilbo(daily) 2000-07-31 He tried to climb Mount Everest in September 2005, but failed. Mt. Everest 2005: Koreans return to bring back the dead bodies of the three lost Korean climbers from 2004 He tried again three years later and his attempt was successful. He also climbed Kangchenjunga.
Um Hong-gil has reached the summit of all 14 eight-thousand-meter peaks in the world and is the first person to climb the 16 highest points on Earth.Mr. Um Hong Gil has bagged his 15th 8000 meter peak. EverestHistory.com.
He was awarded the Himalayan Crown when he completed the 14 highest peaks in 2001. He is the first South Korean and the eleventh climber in the world to hold this distinction.
He led successful expeditions up Everest in 1988, 2002, and 2003. He has climbed both the North and South Sides of the Everest. Um Hong-gil has stood on top of Everest three times.EverestHistory.com article on Um Hong-gil.
On December 13, 2007, he succeeded in reaching the summit of Vinson Massif, the highest peak of Antarctica.Reaching to highest point of antarctica, Vinson Massif Yonhap News.
The film 히말라야/The Himalayas was released on December 16, 2015. It was directed by Lee Seok-hoon and starred Hwang Jung-min in the role of Um. The film is based on Um's life, primarily focusing on his mentorship of two other climbers who later died during an ascent. The film beat the box office battle with Star Wars: The Force Awakens in South Korea, released on the same weekend.
Charitable activities
Um Hong-gil invested his time with The Beautiful Foundation in his native South Korea. He helped start the program "Gil Sarang Fund" (Loving the Road) in order to support cultural activities for handicapped people.The Beautiful foundation beautifulfund.org 2005. Retrieved 21 January 2011. He received an honorary citizenship of Nepal for his philanthropy.
Filmography Television shows Year Title Role Notes 2022–2023 Untangodo Village Hotel Responsible for trekking Season 1–2
Ambassadorship 7th Ulju Mountain Film Festival Ambassador (2022) with Park Gyuri
See also List of climbers, alpinists and mountaineers List of Mount Everest summiters by number of times to the summit
References