Acceptance and Application Process of the Ecomuseum in Korea: From Cheoram Villageum to Cheoram Coal Mine History Town

Cheoram in Gangwon-do is the place where was once very active as a coal mining area in the 1970s and 1980s, but experienced a decline, suffering a crisis of being turned into an abandoned mine since the 1990s. Cheoram Villageum is very noteworthy in that it has embraced the concept of the ecomuseum among the voluntary movements of residents to revitalize the community. This can be regarded as the first acceptance and application of the ecomuseum concept in Korea. This paper investigates the whole current activities of the coal mining town of Cheoram, which has marked a very important beginning in the history of ecomuseums in Korea, starting from Cheoram Villageum. This leads to how ecomuseums earlier in Korea were introduced and how their experimental efforts had an effect on the local areas. Since the ecomuseum is a concept responsible for an important axis of local culture as it is born and grows like a living organism, it is necessary to observe the transition of change while watching it for a long time. The course of examining changes in Cheoram begun in 1998 may be a significant study in its own right. Cheoram Coal Mine History Town currently in operation is also researched and analyzed using the MACDAB index. In addition, while thinking about future improvements, it is suggested that Cheoram Coal Mine History Village establishes itself as a genuine ecomuseum and exchanges with ecomuseums around the world that started in mining towns.