Oh Eun-Sun

Early life and education Oh was born in Namwon, North Jeolla Province. Before taking up climbing, she studied engineering at the University of Suwon in Gyeonggi Province. Over the next several years, she attempted several eight-thousanders without success. She announced that she would delay her summit attempt. Upon reaching the peak, she planted a South Korean flag, waved to the camera which was broadcasting the climb live, and thanked her fellow Koreans for being with her throughout the whole expedition. Oh completed her descent from Annapurna on May 3.

Accomplishment disputed Oh's 2009 summit of Kangchenjunga has been questioned, throwing her accomplishment into doubt. The dispute stems from a photograph said to have been taken by Oh at the summit which is too blurry to confirm exactly where she stood when she took it. The photo is the only visible evidence she has of her ascent. The Nepalese government also stated that it believes Oh climbed Kangchenjunga.

Response On April 26, Oh's sponsor responded on her behalf while she was climbing Annapurna. According to a press release by Black Yak, there were several teams on the mountain at the time and none of them doubted Oh's summit then. "I am really sad that it has come to this," she said. Oh has no plans to re-climb Kangchenjunga. Hawley reportedly replied "Congratulations", indicating the feat would continue to be acknowledged. "Oh will be credited for her climb to Kangchenjunga," she later told the press. Hawley's database will continue to list the climb as disputed unless Pasabán withdraws her complaint.

Hawley stated "I think it's likely that Miss Oh's climb is going to be disputed for the rest of her life" and that evidence was "piling up" against her.

Next team to reach the peak

BBC News also reported on 27 August 2010 that "A member of the next team to reach the peak of Kangchenjunga, in May 2009, the Norwegian climber Jon Gangdal, says he found Ms Oh's Korean flag weighed down by stones, some 50m or 60m below the summit." Oh was criticized for failing to come to the aid of ailing Spanish climber Tolo Calafat, who died on Annapurna while waiting for help. Oh responded that she was unaware that Calafat was sick until after she had descended and was no longer able to help. "We reached the summit around 3 p.m. and the Spanish climber got there an hour later. By the time we got back down to Camp 4 we were all exhausted," Oh said, adding that she "really wanted" to help but was "not in a state to climb [the seven hours back] up the slopes and rescue him."

Oh lists former rival Go Mi-young, who plummeted to her death in 2009 after completing 11 eight-thousanders, as a source of inspiration. She has described mountain climbing as a sort of "addiction, which is much stronger than any drug."

Mountaineering accomplishments Date Eight-thousanders July 17, 1997 Gasherbrum II May 20, 2004 Everest (with supplementary oxygen) October 3, 2006 Shishapangma May 8, 2007 Cho Oyu July 20, 2007 K2 (with supplementary oxygen) May 13, 2008 Makalu May 26, 2008 Lhotse July 31, 2008 Broad Peak October 12, 2008 Manaslu May 21, 2009 Dhaulagiri July 10, 2009 Nanga Parbat October 3, 2009 Gasherbrum I April 27, 2010 Annapurna

Year Seven Summits 2002 Elbrus 2003 Denali 2004 Aconcagua 2004 Kilimanjaro 2004 Vinson Massif 2004 Kosciuszko 2004 Everest