Um Hong-Gil
Encyclopedia
Um Hong-Gil is a South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

n climber.

He has led many South Korean summer expeditions to Mt Aconcagua
Aconcagua
Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Americas at . It is located in the Andes mountain range, in the Argentine province of Mendoza and it lies west by north of its capital, the city of Mendoza. The summit is also located about 5 kilometres from San Juan Province and 15 kilometres from the...

 in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, where he has successfully climbed South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

's highest mountain many times.

In 2000, he finally reached the K2
K2
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...

 (8,611m), which means his team completed the whole mission to go up 14 peaks higher than 8,000 meters in altitude within 12 years.
He tried to climb Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...

 in September, 2005 but failed. He tried again 3 years later and his attempt was successful. He also carried out a mission on Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain of the world with an elevation of and located along the India-Nepal border in the Himalayas.Kangchenjunga is also the name of the section of the Himalayas and means "The Five Treasures of Snows", as it contains five peaks, four of them over...

.

Um Hong-Gil has reached the summit of all 14 eight-thousand meters peaks in the world. In fact he has climbed the 16 highest points on Earth.

He was awarded the Himalayan Crown when he completed the 14 highest peaks in 2001. He is the second South Korean and the eleventh climber in the world to hold this distinction.

He led successful expeditions up Everest in 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.

On December 13th 2007, he succeeded in reaching the summit of Vinson Massif
Vinson Massif
Vinson Massif is the highest mountain of Antarctica, lying in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains, which stand above the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located about from the South Pole and is about long and wide. At the highest point is Mount...

, the highest peak of Antarctica.

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.
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