in 2007, on the east coast of korea, the first train crossed the dmz on the new donghae bukbu (tonghae pukpu) line. the new rail crossing was built next to the road which took south koreans to kŭmgangsan, a region that has significant cultural importance for all koreans. more than one million civilian visitors crossed the dmz until the route was closed after a 53-year-old south korean tourist was shot in july 2008. the north korean government did not want that both police forces investigate the shooting together, so the south korean government stopped offering tours to the resort. since then the resort, and the donghae bukbu line have effectively been closed by the north.