Inside South Korea's abandoned ski resort: Once booming destination near the border with North Korea appears frozen in time after it went bust in 2006 (25 Pics)

The Alps Ski Resort was one of South Koreas first ever winter sports destination, attracting tens of thousands

It abruptly shut its doors in 2006 and despite attempts to re-open the resort, it still remains abandoned today

South Korea has spent £580million on facilities for Winter Olympics, but the resort has remained untouched

Restaurants, swimming pools, chairlifts and ski hire shops have all been left as they were over a decade ago

An aerial shot of the ski resort which has been abandoned in South Korea. In the foreground is the accommodation blocks where guests would have stayed and in the background the slopes and chairlifts can be seen

An abandoned ski hire shop in the Alps Ski Resort near Sokcho in South Korea. Boots - including a pair of dated black and purple Salomon ski boots - sit on the counter alongside a single ski. A basketball also rests up against the counter's base 

Dirty crockery, bottle openers, cutlery, ashtrays and a device which skiers would use to attach to their cameras and wrap around their wrist to make sure their device doesn't fall into the snow remain at the Alps Ski Resort

The Alps Ski Resort, the hub of which is pictured here, was one of the country's first winter sports destinations, attracting tens of thousands of skiers every year until it abruptly shut its doors in 2006. It has now become derelict and the rusted clock tower has frozen in time 

A rusty clock tower looms over the disused Alps Ski Resort, a former holiday destination in South Korea's far northeast close to the Demilitarized Zone

Hundreds of abandoned skis and golf carts are stashed away in a facility at the abandoned Alps Ski Resort close to the Demilitarized Zone near Sokcho

Ski and snowboarding boots piled up in boxes in what was once a restaurant overlooking the slopes at the Alps Ski Resort

Rows of chairs sit in the middle of an abandoned ballroom which has junk piled up around the outside of the venue which still has its curtains open

The resort's owner went bankrupt in the face of increased competition from more accessible rivals with newer facilities

Aged, fading buildings stand below unweeded slopes, where a few bright red chairlifts dangle lifelessly from the cables. The rest are piled up on the floor in front of a yellow chairlift marked '4'

Oh Geum-Sik, who used to run a ski rental shop next to the resort, said local people had been hit hard by the collapse

A self-service canteen is left with tables piled on top of one and other and chairs pushed together as the floor slowly rots away

A grandfather clock stuck at the time of 11.00 is pushed back against an idyllic scene shot of what the ski resort was meant to look like. A vacuum cleaner, an empty bottle and two lightbulbs can be seen on the floor

A desolate scene of abandoned furniture and dead plants is all that is left to greet visitors. A poster on the wall shows what the resort was meant to look like and a calendar hangs from the wall

A photo shows the apartments visitors would have stayed in when they visited the Alps Ski Resort. The weeds have burst through the tarmac and the hotels have been left to rot

A hallway inside an apartment block which guests would have used at the resort which closed its doors in 2006. Wallpaper can be seen on the floor having peeled off the walls and pieces of the ceiling dangle downwards

A green chairlift marked '1' sits unused at the bottom of what would have once been a run that came down adjacent to the apartment blocks and clock tower 

With the resort shut down, the surrounding ski hire shops and bars were all forced to close with absolutely no trade coming in

The resort opted for brightly-coloured ski lifts, which can be seen here with the main accommodation area in the background. A yellow, red, pink and green lift can be seen at the bottom of the slopes

A row of ski hire shops and bars line on e of the main streets leading to the resort. Guests would have skied the mountains on the right hand side and stayed at accommodation in the centre of the picture

A swimming pool at the resort. It appears a stage was set up inside the pool at one stage, but water still remains in the deep end. Dying plants and banners surround the facility 

A stairwell with an elaborate decoration running through the centre of it gathers dust as a dead plant and a grandfather clock lie dormant in the walkway

The main lobby of the abandoned Alps Ski Resort which someone has been using as a squat with a stained mattress and a pillow in the foyer

Rows of pink and white accommodation blocks which would have housed the guests during their stay at the ski resort in South Korea

A former restaurant looking out onto the slopes which would have been packed with skiers remains as it was more than a decade ago