Gangwon Province woos Seoul visitors with Miners' Day events, 'Close Gangwon' campaign

Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, which borders Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, has been steadily closing the psychological gap with the greater metropolitan area. Pocheon and Yeoncheon feel like neighbors to Cheorwon, Gapyeong to Chuncheon, Yangpyeong to Hongcheon, and Wonju to Yeoju and Icheon.

A highway from Incheon reaches Samcheok, and KTX trains from Cheongnyangni station cover Gangneung and Donghae in under two hours. The Seoul–Yangyang Expressway puts the province within a two-hour drive — roughly the same time many commuters spend crawling from Umyeon-dong to Gupabal.

Gangwon Province recently launched a "Close Gangwon" campaign in the heart of Seoul, and will follow up Tuesday and Wednesday with a ceremony marking the inaugural Miners' Day — an event designed to honor the dedication of coal miners, many of whom relocated to the greater Seoul area after the coal industry's decline.

A few years ago, Kangwon Land opened a pop-up in Hongdae themed around mining culture, drawing crowds of young visitors who enthusiastically posed in helmets and with pickaxes. Enjoyment, it turns out, is another way of remembering.

At Gwanghwamun Square on Tuesday and Wednesday, organizers will run a commemorative exhibition hall introducing the lives of miners and the history of the coal industry, promotional booths for the four cities and counties of Taebaek, Samcheok, Jeongseon and Yeongwol, cultural performances, and hands-on experience programs for the public. Those four destinations are also widely known for their wealth of tourist attractions.

Taebaek offers a Milky Way tour, Taebaeksan, the Paleozoic-era Gumunso gorge, a filming location from the drama "Descendants of the Sun," the Swiss-style Montorang Ranch, and the headwaters of three rivers — the Han River, Nakdonggang and Osipcheon. Samcheok is home to Jukseouru — one of the rare Gwandong pavilions designated a national treasure — along with the New Millennium Coastal Road, Hwanseon Cave, Miin Falls and the Chogok coastal deck trail. Jeongseon draws visitors with Byeongbangchi, Arirang Market, High1 leisure facilities, Park Roche Wellness, Mindungsan and Auraji. Yeongwol, famed as a place where kings once lived, boasts Cheongnyeongpo, Seondol, Yoseonam, Red Moon Y-Park, Sangdong Culture Village, Radio Star and Seobu Market.

When someone charming comes calling, you at least go to meet them a few times — and if you really like what you find, you keep coming back.

Coal mine experiences will also be on offer at Gwanghwamun. The program is designed to let citizens step directly into the working conditions and daily lives of miners, giving them a tangible sense of the coal industry's history.

Visitors may be surprised to find themselves with striking cosplay photos to take home. Younger generations will also come away with a renewed appreciation for the miners who risked their lives extracting coal — South Korea's homegrown energy source and once its sole industrial fuel — and supplied it as the seed money for the nation's economic growth.

Son Chang-hwan, head of the Global Division at Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province's Second Administrative Office, said Miners' Day is "a meaningful occasion to remember and honor the dedication and hard work of the miners who laid the foundation for South Korea's industrialization and economic growth." He added that he hoped the event would "spread awareness of the significance of establishing Miners' Day and serve as an opportunity for the public to collectively remember the miners' noble sacrifice."

Gangwon Province kicked off its metropolitan outreach campaign Sunday with a promotional booth at the Jamsu Bridge Walking Festival, and has since been running simultaneous "Close Gangwon" booths at the University of Seoul and the Seoul International Garden Expo.

The University of Seoul booth runs through Friday, the Gangwon booth at the garden expo operates Sept. 24 and Sept. 25, and the "Close Gangwon" corner at the Jamsu Bridge festival will return Sunday and again on Oct. 11.

The province's courtship of the greater Seoul market is both layered and persistent. Rather than staging one-off events, organizers have embedded the campaign within existing local festivals and venues to maximize efficiency and impact.

Booth visitors can take part in a "Close Gangwon Quiz" and social media participation events, among other interactive programs.

Lee Jong-gu, director of the Construction and Transportation Bureau at Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, said a survey conducted last year found that only about 10 percent of Seoul residents accurately knew how long it actually takes to travel from Seoul to major cities in Gangwon Province, showing that the psychological distance remains significant. "We will not stop at a single promotional push," Lee said. "We will keep going to places where citizens gather and let them know that Gangwon is closer than they think."

Meanwhile, Gangwon Province will launch an online contest under the "Close Gangwon" banner — dubbed the "Within-One-Hour Campaign" — starting Wednesday. Participants are invited to create their own short videos on the theme of Gangwon's proximity and share them on social media, with top entries winning a combined 100 nights of resort accommodation within the province. Full details on how to enter and the schedule will be released Wednesday.