mountaineer-South Pole

▲ Mountaineer Kim Young-mi poses at the South Pole after completing an unassisted solo expedition in this photo captured from her Instagram post on Jan. 17, 2023. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

mountaineer-South Pole

Mountaineer Kim Young-mi completes unassisted solo South Pole expedition

SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- Mountaineer Kim Young-mi said Tuesday she has reached the South Pole alone and unassisted, becoming the first South Korean to achieve the feat.

The 42-year-old climber of North Face Athletes & Team departed from the Hercules Inlet in South Pole on Nov. 27 and traveled 1,186.5 kilometers over 51 days, pulling a 100-kilogram sledge.

"I walked 27.43 km on the 51st and last day to reach 90 degrees south latitude at 8:55 p.m. The accumulated distance was 1,186.5 km and daytime temperature was minus 31 degrees Celsius," Kim wrote on her Instagram from the South Pole.

Kim said she was able to overcome the extreme cold and finish the journey by thinking of "good people and warm people."

"I'm going back with 10 fingers and 10 toes without injury," she added.

In 2004, a Korean team led by climber Park Young-seok succeeded in an unassisted expedition to the South Pole, but Kim completed the unaided trip by herself.

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