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Park Young-seok

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Park Young-seok
Born
Park Young-seok

(1963-11-02)November 2, 1963
Seoul, South Korea
DiedOctober 2011(2011-10-00) (aged 47)
Annapurna, Nepal
OccupationMountaineer
Known forFirst person to complete the True Explorers Grand Slam
Korean name
Hangul
박영석
Hanja
朴英碩
Revised RomanizationBak Yeongseok
McCune–ReischauerPark Yongsŏk

Park Young-seok (Korean박영석; Hanja朴英碩; November 2, 1963 – October 2011) was a South Korean mountaineer.

In May 2005, he became the first person in the world to complete a True Explorers Grand Slam.[1] He climbed the world's 14 eight-thousanders, the Seven Summits, and trekked to both poles.[1] He holds the world's fifth fastest time (behind Kristin Harila of Norway, Nirmal Purja of Nepal, Kim Chang-ho[2] of South Korea, and Jerzy Kukuczka of Poland) for ascending the 14 eight-thousanders, he climbed six of the 8,000-meter Himalayan peaks within one year, and gained another record for reaching the South Pole on foot in 44 days, self-sufficient and without any food re-supplies.[3]

Achievements

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Name of Peak Elevation (m) Date of summit
1. Everest 8,848 1993-05-16
2. K2 8,611 2001-07-22
3. Kangchenjunga 8,586 1999-05-12
4. Lhotse 8,516 2001-04-29
5. Makalu 8,463 2000-05-15
6. Cho Oyu 8,201 1997-09-27
7. Dhaulagiri 8,167 1997-04-27
8. Manaslu 8,163 1998-12-06
9. Nanga Parbat 8,125 1998-07-21
10. Annapurna 8,091 1996-05-04
11. Gasherbrum I 8,068 1997-07-09
12. Broad Peak 8,047 2000-07-30
13. Gasherbrum II 8,035 1997-07-19
14. Shishapangma 8,027 2000-10-02
15. Aconcagua 6,959 2002-01-11
16. Denali 6,195 1994-06-02
17. Kilimanjaro 5,895 1997-02-17
18. Elbrus 5,642 2002-07-07
19. Vinson Massif 4,897 2002-11-25
20. Carstensz Pyramid 4,884 2002-05-11
21. Kosciusko 2,280 2001-09-21
22. South Pole 2,835 2004
23. North Pole Sea level 2005-04-30
24. Everest
North-South Traverse
8,848 2006-05-11

Disappearance

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In October 2011, Park Young-seok, Shin Dong-min, and Kang Ki-seok decided to make another attempt on Annapurna's south face. Before the expedition, Park was quoted,[4]

“I’m getting more and more likely to die. I live each day with a grateful heart, but a mountaineer who settles down is not a mountaineer… If a tiger loses its wildness, is it still a tiger? I was born with the luck of an explorer, so I think I’ll explore and climb mountains until the day I die.”

— Park Young-seok

Park and his other team members went missing after their last communications on October 18, 2011.[5] His last words recorded on the base camp walkie talkie were "How do we get across that?"[6]

The Korean Alpine Federation immediately launched a search and rescue operation. In the ten-day long rescue operation to find the missing climbers, no signs of Park, Shin or Kang were found. Presuming that the team had perished due to rockfall, the Federation decided to call off the operation on October 28, 2011.[7][8]

The Korean Alpine Federation hosted a joint "Mountaineer's Funeral" for the climbers, and set up an incense burning altar, which was visited by over 4,000 mourners.[9]

Legacy

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In 2016, construction began on the Park Young-seok Mountain Culture Center near Park's hometown of Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. The base camp opened in 2019. The facility comprises an urban park for indoor rock climbing, exhibition spaces and performance halls.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Mr. Park completes the Grand Slam". EverestNews.com. 2005-05-01. Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
  2. ^ "Korean Everest Sea to Summit marred by tragedy". thebmc.co.uk. 2013-05-27. Archived from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  3. ^ Jun, Chang (2004-01-13). "박영석씨 등 5명, 남극원정 성공" [Park and 5 members reach the South Pole]. The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). Seoul. Archived from the original on 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  4. ^ 김, 형규 (2011-11-03). ""박영석·신동민·강기석, 그들은 불굴의 도전정신을 남겼다"". 경향신문 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  5. ^ "The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea – Korean Mountaineer Missing on Annapurna". The Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
  6. ^ 정영재 (2018-10-13). "안나푸르나의 별이 된 박영석, 그이는 지금도 긴 원정 중". 중앙일보 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  7. ^ "Everest K2 News Explorersweb – the pioneers checkpoint". Explorersweb.com. 2011-10-31. Archived from the original on 2011-11-10. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
  8. ^ Woo, Jaeyeon (2011-10-31). "With Park Gone, Korea Loses Its Trailblazer – Korea Real Time – WSJ". Blogs.wsj.com. Archived from the original on 2011-11-03. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
  9. ^ 김, 형규 (2011-11-03). ""박영석·신동민·강기석, 그들은 불굴의 도전정신을 남겼다"". 경향신문 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  10. ^ "자연으로 돌아갈 인공의 산: 박영석 베이스캠프". vmspace.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
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