A look back at the ‘Coal Age’ with the National Museum of Korean History and local museums – Seoul Culture Today

4.26~9.22, 《Coal Age》 Special Exhibition
Over 130 works, including the 2-meter-sized ‘rock drill’ and ‘miner artist’ Hwang Jae-hyung’s works.

[서울문화투데이 김연신 기자] An exhibition will be held to look back on the modern history of coal. The National Museum of Korean History (Director Han Su), in collaboration with the coal museums in Mungyeong, Boryeong, and Taebaek, will hold a special exhibition titled ‘’ from tomorrow (26th) to September 22nd.

The National Museum of Korean History and the Mungyeong, Boryeong, and Taebaek Coal Museums have continued to collaborate, starting with the publication of the thematic series “Coal” in 2017. The National Museum of Korean History, Mungyeong-si, Boryeong-si, and Taebaek-si have confirmed the holding of a special exhibition in 2023, and will unveil this exhibition after a year of joint exhibition planning and preparation.

This special exhibition was prepared to look back on the modern history of coal, which was the driving force of Korea’s industrial growth and fuel for the common people, and to think about how we can remember and preserve the remaining coal industrial heritage. Representative materials from the Mungyeong, Boryeong, and Taebaek Coal Museums, including lumps of “anthracite” coal mined in Taebaek, Mungyeong’s “Jeungsanboguk, repaying the nation by increasing coal production” extract, and Boryeong’s huge coal mine tool “rock drill.” and the works of Hwang Jae-hyung, who was called the ‘miner painter.’

The exhibition consists of a total of 5 parts. The prologue, , introduces the history of coal from the formation of coal to the Industrial Revolution through video, and presents “anthracite” about 1 meter in size mined in Taebaek and plant fossils that were native to Mungyeong and Boryeong hundreds of millions of years ago.

The core of Part 1 is ‘increasing coal production.’ We can get a glimpse of the constant challenges and efforts to achieve the goal of increasing the production of coal, the driving force of Korea’s industrial development, and the slogan ‘Increasing production for the country’, which was often used at the time, was a slogan symbolizing this era.

In Part 2, , you can see the coal mine work tools directly used in the coal mines of Mungyeong, Boryeong, and Taebaek. The video that fills the entire wall takes you to the deepest end of the coal mine, and you can also enjoy the little-known stories of female coal mine workers and miners’ lunch boxes.

Part 3 < p>

The epilogue, “Remembering Them,” first contains the process from the implementation of the coal industry rationalization policy to the enactment of a special law to support the development of abandoned mine areas. We introduce three cases of regions that were transformed into cultural industry areas based on the coal industrial heritage left behind after the mine was closed.

Lastly, the exhibition continues with the briquette exhibition space, introducing the hidden secrets of briquettes, the experience of making briquette soap, and the coal culture tourist attractions of Mungyeong, Boryeong, and Taebaek.

Director Han Su of the National Museum of Korean History said, “Miners of the coal age supported Korea’s economic development by working tirelessly in hot, dark coal mines.” He added, “The legacy of the coal industry left behind for us and the memories of the hot coal age are the foundation for the future cultural industry.” “It will be this,” he said.

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