Gwangmyeong reboots to surge as viable city
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The entrance to the Gwangmyeong Cave, which provides an instant rush of cool wind in the scorching heat as soon as the visitors walk in, has summaries of the history of the former mining of the cave on the walls. / Korea Times photos by Choi Won-suk
By Kim Ji-soo
GWANGMYEONG — While many cities strive to stand on their own, not all are successful. In recent years, the city of Gwangmyeong was able to boost its economy, in part, with its successful transformation of a closed mine into a salted shrimp warehouse and finally into a popular tourist destination.
The Gwangmyeong cave park’s sales after it began charging admission fees in April 2015 through June this year stood at 7.9 billion won.
“The closed mine (which ran from 1912 through 1972 where gold, silver and copper were mined), had its share of unfortunate accidents, such as when mine residue got washed off by rain and into the nearby towns, so that plants in the fields would not grow,” said Yang Ki-dae, the city’s mayor. For this reason, the mine was closed, albeit the residue remained for awhile.
Gwangmyeong Mayor Yang Ki-dae, 53, talks passionately and ambitiously about his plans to further upgrade his city into one where its residents are the top priority and are happy people. Yang is currently serving his second term as mayor.
The mine was bought by a businessman, Kim Gi-won, who had hoped to continue the mining operation. But when he wasn’t able to do so because he couldn’t get a permit, he decided to use the cave to store salted shrimp. It was only recently that the cave’s potential as a tourist destination was realized. The seeming irony of a cave within a city is also part of its appeal.
After Yang, 53, took office in 2010, he visited the former mine and decided to charge ahead with the cave park revitalization project. The city government purchased the mine for 4.3 billion won in 2011 and dived into its redevelopment. The project was inspired by urban revitalization projects in other countries, such as the transformation of the closed Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen, Germany, into a major tourist venue with museums and exhibitions, the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Musee d’Orsay in Paris, France.
Mayor Yang Ki-dae of Gwangmyeong City in Gyeonggi Province added this unique 350-seat performance hall inside the Gwangmyeong Cave, so that more people can enjoy cultural performances mostly held on the weekends. Top Korean performers including singer Insooni have performed at this venue.
At this time of the year, the region surrounding the cave park is lush and green. The cave park is reachable by subway — Cheolsan Station on the No. 7 subway line, from where a bus runs to it. A tip from volunteers and city government officials is that the best way for motorists to visit the park is to go to the No. 3 parking lot and take the “elephant-themed” train to the cave.
As one steps into the entrance, which is just above ground, one can feel a cold breeze flowing out of the cave. Over the years, the city has created various thematic “caves” within the space, such as a wine cave that sells only domestic wines from 16 wine-producing regions in the country. Sales of the wines reached over 600 million won last year. The cave park also has an aquarium, a fantasy zone built jointly with special effects company Weta Workshop, which worked on the “Lord of the Rings” movies, and a 350-seat performance venue, where popular Korean artists such as singer Insooni have performed. Some 640,000 people have visited the cave park so far this year, and the city expects this figure to surpass the 920,000 recorded last year.
The “wine cave” or Cave de Vin inside the Gwangmyeong Cave in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province. Here, visitors can get a taste of the more than 16 local wines produced nationwide and also purchase them.
For Yang, a former journalist with the Dong-A Ilbo, this project was challenging but rewarding.
“When I lost in the 17th and the 18th elections for the National Assembly, I didn’t work for several years. So when I took the helm at the city of Gwangmyeong, I was bursting with passion to work,” Yang said. He ran on what is now the Minjoo Party of Korea ticket in the parliamentary elections.
Yang said he takes great pride in the support and effort of local government officials on the board of the revitalization project. He said he initially held a lot of Korean boilermaker (a mix of beer and soju) parties to communicate with them.
“The cave is the city’s source for jobs,” he said. Some 217 jobs have been added last year because of the cave park, jobs that are critical to the city and its people.
But the cave park also enables Gwangmyeong to share cultural content with youths from around the country, including those from faraway islands and the underprivileged. Until Sept. 4, the cave park has an international exhibition featuring reproductions of Paleolithic paintings and engravings from the Lascaux Cave in southwestern France. When the exhibition closes, the reproductions are headed for Japan.
“It’s cultural sharing; it’s cultural ‘democratization,’” Yang said.
The city, of late has been progressing not only with its cave park but also with other amenities. It is home to Korea’s first IKEA store, as well as other outlet stores such as Costco and a Lotte Premium Outlet that have created some 1,000 jobs. Other local governments now consult with the city about strategy in attracting outlets that are sources of jobs. The city is also easily accessible from all around the nation from the Gwangmyeong KTX station.
When asked about the traffic surrounding the IKEA store, Yang said the inbound traffic will be eased by public transportation and by the second IKEA store in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and the third one in Gangdong, Seoul.
Property prices have risen noticeably in the last year, Yang said.
For the city once known as a “bedroom community” — where people working in Seoul for instance who lived in the city, returned after work only to sleep — Gwangmyeong has come a long way. Today, its innovative elementary, middle and high schools are sought after by families from Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province.
Despite the city’s slow start and challenges, Yang said he really wants to see the project through. He was not one to sit at his desk and reject new challenges.
“People told me that if I fail in developing the cave park, my political life will be over,” Yang said. People also warned me the same would happen if visitors stop coming, owing to the newly imposed admission fees last year.
A vital factor to his success is his emphasis on communication. “I realized that it is important that I recognize, encourage and reward city government officials (for the work they’ve done for the project),” he said.