Representing the Museum in South Korea

Recently the Museum’s Director of Marketing, Katherine Flett was invited to speak at the 2018 Cave City International Conference in Gwangmyeong City, South Korea. The conference invited leading industrial heritage organizations from around the world to share best practices and learn from one another. 

Katherine’s presentation—”Growing Canada’s Economy by Exploring BC’s Past” —introduced attendees to the Museum’s history as well as how she and her team market this icon and award-winning National Historic Site to the public.

This year’s conference included representatives from the Czech Republic’s Pilsenjoy and Dolni Vitkovice, Japan’s Ikuno Silver Mine, Taiwan’s Xinbei City Gold Museum, Romania’s Salina Turda, and South Korea’s Gwangmyeong Cave.

Like the Museum, Gwangmyeong Cave has its own unique history. From 1910 to 1945 it served as a gold mine. It eventually closed in 1972 and for the next 40 years was used as storage space for salted shrimp and a place of refuge during the Korean War. Today, it is considered one of the best cave theme parks in Korea with a visitation of 1 million+. Inside the cave, two kilometers of mining tunnels have been transformed, hosting everything from light shows to sculpted dragons.

We’re always proud to share the Museum’s story. Having played such an important role in BC’s history and the lives of families and workers that lived here, its legacy matters to us. Speaking at the 2018 Cave City International Conference was an honour and we appreciate the generosity of our hosts.