Legendary climber Reinhold Messner visits Ulsan Film Festival

“I hope a mountaineering culture that respects mountains and nature continues to grow in South Korea.”

On Sept. 26, Reinhold Messner, 81, the “legend of the mountaineering world,” said this during a meeting at the Yeongnam Alps Complex Welcome Center on the slopes of Sinbulsan in Ulju County, Ulsan. “It’s been nine years since my last visit to Korea, and what surprised me most is how much young people love the mountains and learn from them,” he added.

Messner visited Ulju for the second time since 2016 as the recipient of the Ulsan Ulju World Mountain Culture Award at the Ulsan Ulju World Mountain Film Festival (UMFF), which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Born in Italy in 1944, he became the first person in the world to climb all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters, including Mount Everest (8,848 meters), without supplemental oxygen between 1970 and 1986. Although Guinness World Records controversially annulled his record in 2023 due to stricter verification criteria, he remains a “living legend” in the global mountaineering community.

Messner said he prefers to be known not as a living legend but as a “teacher of nature.” He expressed a desire to preserve the spirit of mountaineering, protect climbing heritage, and promote mountaineering culture. In Italy, he has undertaken numerous initiatives, including founding and managing the Messner Mountain Museum (MMM) network.

He also emphasized the importance of establishing a mountaineering museum in South Korea to cultivate local mountain culture. “Even in Korea, which has produced many world-class climbers, it is essential to preserve and pass on traditional alpinism and other mountaineering content through a museum,” he said. “I hope it will be built within a few years, and I will definitely return when it opens.”

During his visit, Messner also met Um Hong-gil, 65, executive director of the Um Hong-gil Human Foundation and the first person to summit 16 Himalayan peaks (14 main peaks plus two satellite peaks) in 2007. Um, who invited Messner to UMFF as its executive director, was praised by Messner as “an outstanding mountaineer and a remarkable person who brings dreams and hope to children in Nepal.”

On Sept. 27 and 28, Messner will screen two films he directed, "Still Alive and Everest," "The Final Step," and engage with audiences. UMFF is South Korea’s only international mountain film festival, showcasing films focused on mountain sports and culture.


울주=도영진기자 0jin2@donga.com