Korea Route

In 2002, Kang Yeon-ryong (1972-2018) pioneered the 'Korean Highway,' South Korea's first new route on an 8,000-meter peak, on the South Face of Shishapangma. Completing the world's second ascent of Gasherbrum IV (7925m) in 1999 and the SSE ridge of K2 (8611m) in 2000, he was an alpinist who represented Korea throughout the 2000s. He was a man who practiced a positive influence for others, a life that went beyond mountaineering; during a climb on Manaslu, he lost all ten fingers to frostbite after giving his gloves to a junior climber in distress. After he passed away in a paragliding accident in 2018 while training for Cho Oyu, his peers also learned a fact he had kept secret for 16 years: he had been supporting the family of a Sherpa who had died while climbing with him. This book talk is an occasion to share the life of 'Kang Yeon-ryong, the man,' as chronicled by author Park Myeong-hwan through interviews with over 100 of his family members, friends, and colleagues after his passing, along with the deeper stories that could not be fully captured in the book.?