Um Hong-gil

Um Hong-gil (Korean: 엄홍길; Hanja: 嚴弘吉; born September 14, 1960) is a South Korean mountaineer.

In this Korean name, the family name is Um.

Um Hong-gil
엄홍길
Born	(1960-09-14) September 14, 1960 (age 64) Goseong County, South Gyeongsang
Nationality	South Korean
Occupation	Mountaineer
Known for	being the first person to climb the 16 highest points on Earth
Military career
Service / branch	South Korea Navy
Rank	Navy UDT / SEAL Staff Sergeant
Korean name
Hangul	엄홍길
Hanja	嚴弘吉
Revised Romanization	Eom Honggil
McCune–Reischauer	ŏm Homkil
Website	www.umhonggil.com

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.^[1] He tried to climb Mount Everest in September 2005, but failed.^[2] 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.^[3]

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.^[4]

On December 13, 2007, he succeeded in reaching the summit of Vinson Massif, the highest peak of Antarctica.^[5]

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.^[6] He received an honorary citizenship of Nepal for his philanthropy.^[7]

Filmography

Television shows

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2022–2023	Untangodo Village Hotel	Responsible for trekking	Season 1–2	[8][9]

Ambassadorship

• 7th Ulju Mountain Film Festival Ambassador (2022) with Park Gyuri^[10]

See also

• List of climbers, alpinists and mountaineers
• List of Mount Everest summiters by number of times to the summit

References

1. "He finally climbed on K2" Kookmin Ilbo(daily) 2000-07-31
2. Mt. Everest 2005: Koreans return to bring back the dead bodies of the three lost Korean climbers from 2004
3. Mr. Um Hong Gil has bagged his 15th 8000 meter peak. EverestHistory.com.
4. EverestHistory.com article on Um Hong-gil.
5. Reaching to highest point of antarctica, Vinson Massif Yonhap News.
6. The Beautiful foundation beautifulfund.org 2005. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
7. "Korean philanthropist Um Hong Gil gets honorary citizenship". South Asia Time. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
8. Hong Se-young (June 28, 2022). "엄홍길·정보석·이장우 '운탄고도 마을호텔' 7월 25일 첫방 확정 [공식]" [Eom Hong-gil, Jeong Bo-seok, and Lee Jang-woo ‘Untangodo Village Hotel’ first aired on July 25 confirmed [Official]] (in Korean). Sports Donga. Retrieved June 28, 2022 – via Naver.
9. Choi, Hee-jae (February 9, 2023). "엄홍길X박상원X오민석, 호텔 운영 돌입…24일 첫 방송 (운탄고도 마을호텔2)" [Um Hong-gil X Park Sang-won X Oh Min-seok, start hotel operation... First broadcast on the 24th (Untangodo Village Hotel 2)] (in Korean). X-ports News. Retrieved February 9, 2023 – via Naver.
10. Kim Geun-ju (March 14, 2022). "제7회 울주세계산악영화제 홍보대사 박규리 배우와 엄홍길 대장" [7th Ulju Mountain Film Festival Ambassador Park Gyu-ri and Um Hong-gil Captain] (in Korean). Yonhap News. Retrieved March 14, 2022 – via Naver.