Kangwon Land marks 30th Coal Culture Festival with memorial at Shaft 650

A ceremony was held to reexamine the historical significance of the coal industry — the foundation on which former mining communities were built — and to honor the dedication of those who came before.

Kangwon Land said it attended the industrial pioneers memorial service for the 30th Coal Culture Festival, held Thursday at the entrance to Shaft 650 in Sabuk-eup, Jeongseon, to commemorate the history of the coal mining industry and the sacrifices of its workers, and to pray for the safety of visitors to the resort.

The memorial service was attended by Kangwon Land CEO Kim Do-gyun, Coal Culture Festival Promotion Committee Chairman Kim Gyeong-jun, Gwangsan Jinpye Rights Alliance President Gu Se-jin, heads of local institutions and organizations, bereaved family members, and officials from coal industry transition regions.

"On the 30th anniversary of the Coal Culture Festival, we will not simply look back at the past — we will document the lives of miners, preserve the history of mining villages, and pass that spirit on to the next generation," said Kim Gyeong-jun, chairman of the Coal Culture Festival Promotion Committee.

This year marks the 30th edition of the Coal Culture Festival. Kangwon Land used the occasion to honor the sacrifices of industrial pioneers while also praying for the safety of customers visiting the M650 Museum — which preserves traces of the former mine — and riding the mine cart, as well as for the continued development of the region.

"The sacrifices of coal industry pioneers and the lives of residents who strove to hold their communities together in the mines are the precious history that made today's Kangwon Land and this region what they are," said Kangwon Land CEO Kim Do-gyun. "We will remember and carry on that legacy, and do our utmost to ensure that every visitor to Kangwon Land can feel the history of this region."

Meanwhile, the industrial pioneers memorial service at the entrance to Shaft 650 in Sabuk-eup, Jeongseon, is a commemorative rite held to honor the souls of miners who lost their lives or were injured hundreds of meters underground at the coalface — workers who were central to South Korea's modernization and economic growth — and to offer comfort to their bereaved families.