Gyeonggi Province, Gwangmyeong City, and the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization
sign an MOU on February 16 to stimulate Gwangmyeong Cave tourism

◇ On February 16, Governor Nam
Kyung-pil, Gwangmyeong City Mayor Yang Ki-dae, and Gyeonggi Tourism
Organization President Hong Seung-pyo signed an MOU to promote Gwangmyeong Cave
tourism. Pictured: Signing ceremony Gwayngmyeong Cave located in Gahak-ro,
Gwangmyeong City ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News

Gwangmyeong Cave is set to
become the face of future tourism in Gyeonggi Province.  

Following a safety inspection of
tenement houses in Seoul in the afternoon of February 16, Governor Nam
Kyung-pil, together with Gwangmyeong City Mayor Yang Ki-dae and Gyeonggi
Tourism Organization President Hong Seung-pyo, signed an MOU to promote Gwangmyeong
Cave tourism at 4:30pm. 

With this MOU, Gyeonggi
Province, Gwangmyeong City and the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization will work
together to preserve Gwangmyeong Cave’s historical and environmental value and develop it
as a key tourism destination in Gyeonggi Province.  

This Gwangmyeong Cave project won
the Grand Prize at last year’s NEXT Gyeonggi Creative Audition and received KRW
10 billion in special promotion funds. Since winning this award, Gwangmyeong
City has formed a group to promote the project earlier this year, and has
focused its efforts on developing a wider range of tourism products such as
building an exhibition hall in the neighboring park on Gahaksan Mountain. 

In addition, beginning on
April 16 this year, a travelling exhibition for the Lascaux Exposition
Internationale from France will begin at Gwangmyeong Cave. According to the
agreement signed, Gyeonggi Province will support various marketing endeavors including
exhibitions and product development. 

Gwangmyeong Cave was a working
mine for 60 years from 1912 to 1972. After being shut down, however, it was
left unutilized other than serving as a warehouse for salted shrimp for Soraepogu
shop owners. In January of 2011, Gwangmyeong City bought the property for KRW
4.3 billion and opened part of it to the public as a tourist destination in
August of the same year.  

In April 2015, the cave was
opened as paid venue and successfully attracted more than one million visitors
in just one year, generating total revenue of KRW 4.4 billion and creating 217
jobs. 

Gwangmyeong
Cave is evidence of a sad and painful past during which people chose hard labor
as miners to avoid being drafted by the army under Japanese colonial rule.
After independence, the mine was operated until 1972 and helped Korea develop
various industries and the national economy. People look upon the cave favorably
due to the fact that it served a significant role in Korean history.

◇ Governor Nam Kyung-pil said, “In light of this
agreement, I will wholeheartedly help Gwangmyeong turn a new page in its
history.” ⓒ Gyeonggi
G-News Yoo Je-hoon

At the MOU signing ceremony,
Governor Nam said, “I’m touched that the [Gyeonggi] Provincial Assembly, [Gwangmyeong
City], and the [Gwangmyeong] City Council all put their minds together to
create a new chapter in our history by transforming the old salted shrimp
warehouse through new and creative ideas.” Governor Nam added, “In light of this
agreement, I will wholeheartedly help Gwangmyeong turn a new page in its
history.” 

Gyeonggi Tourism Organization
President Hong Seung-pyo said, “Gwangmyeong Cave, which opened last April, has
continued its great success by attracting more than one million visitors and
bringing in more than KRW 4 billion in revenue.” He added, “I expect that it will
become a popular destination among Southeast Asian and Chinese tourists within
the year, and also become a world-class tourist destination further down the
road.” 

After
the ceremony, Governor Nam took a guided tour of Gwangmyeong Cave with a
cultural curator and enjoyed a banquet with other guests.

◇ Governor Nam Kyung-pil, Social
Integration Vice Governor Lee Ki-woo, and Gwangmyeong City Vice Mayor Lee
Chun-pyo tour Gwangmyeong Cave guided by a curator. ⓒ Gyeonggi
G-News Yoo Je-hoon

There are numerous attractions
inside the cave including: the Modern History Museum, which introduces the
aforementioned history of Gwangmyeong Cave; Cave Aqua World, which utilizes
water from the aquifer under the cave; and artistic spaces that take advantage
of the topographical features inside the cave such as the Bullomun Gate and Golden
Waterfall. Additionally, depending on the season, a wide range of cultural and
artistic performances take place at the Cave Art Center.

Governor
Nam said in an interview, “We will find local tourism projects and employment
projects such as the Gwangmyeong Cave project during next season’s Creative Audition and
extend Gyeonggi Province’s full support to the winners.”

ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News | Ha Soo-hyun hyunie94@naver.com

http://gnews.gg.go.kr/news/news_detail.asp?number=201602171013178647C048&s_code=C049