Mountaineer Kim Young-mi, First Korean to Reach South Pole 'Solo Without Resupply'

Mountaineer Captain Kim Young-mi, who succeeded in reaching the South Pole alone without resupply. (Photo by Captain Kim Young-mi, Instagram capture)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Mountaineer Kim Youngmi (42, member of The North Face Athlete Team) became the first Korean to reach the South Pole solo without any resupply.

On the 16th (local time), Kim Youngmi announced on her social media, "(South Pole challenge) On the 51st day, the final day, I walked 27.43 km and reached 90 degrees south latitude at 8:55 PM. The total accumulated distance was 1,186.5 km, and the daytime temperature during the journey was minus 31 degrees Celsius."

She said, "It was very cold, but I walked thinking of good people and warm-hearted people. Thanks to them, I am bringing all ten fingers and ten toes safely without injury," adding with wit, "I was worried until I fell asleep last night about walking about 20 km today due to concerns about frostbite. I don't know how I managed to come this far pulling a heavy sled for over 1,000 km. The cold and windy days, the cloudy and hungry times were tough, but looking back, there were far more clear and warm days."

Kim Youngmi started from Hercules Inlet on the western side of the Antarctic continent on November 27 last year and traveled alone for 51 days, pulling a 100 kg sled for 1,186.5 km. She did not receive any equipment or food support.

Her 'unsupported solo expedition to the South Pole' is the first for a Korean and the first for Asia. Previously, in 2004, an expedition team led by Park Youngseok reached the South Pole unsupported as a team.

Kim Youngmi's solo South Pole expedition will be made into a documentary and released on an online video streaming service (OTT).