DESIGNATING STONE QUARRY AS HERITAGE

[Anchor Lead]

Korea’s traditional floor heating system is called Ondol. The key to the ondol system is a flat stone that goes under the floor. Now there are moves to list the country’s once largest quarry for this stone that operated until the 1980s as a world heritage site.

[Pkg]

A walk along a steep mountain path leads to a huge pile of stones that are flat, thin and resemble a plank. The stones also contain minute holes which increase heat transfer, making them perfect to be used as Gudeuljang, stones used in ondol floor heating.

[Soundbite] Lee Chun-seon(Quarried stone in 1980s) : "We cut and collected stone here and carried them on cow carts to Deungnyang station because they were headed to Gwangju."

The stones quarried from the mountain top were carried down the hill on cow-steered carts. he roads used back in the days which formed in zigzag shape, so as to reduce the slope during travel, remain to this day.

[Soundbite] Lee Chun-seon(Quarried stone in 1980s) : "The carts went up to the peak and this is the very path they used."

Stone cutting work at Obongsan Mountain for this particular use of flat stones began from the Japanese colonial era. Production here at its peak accounted for 70 percent of the nationwide total. 40 years have passed since the quarry operation came to a halt but traces of that era remain intact, such as a large scale site and delivery path down the mountain.

[Soundbite] Kim June-bong(Int‘l Society of Ondol) : "Traces of stone-cutting are seen here and there. I believe this is the only place of its kind where large scale quarry sites remain all the way to the mountain top."

Boseong-gun County is currently gathering testimony, records and relics of residents who were part of the quarry operation.

[Soundbite] Kim Cheol-woo(Boseong Governor) : "We hope to seek listing as a state-designated asset and then a World Heritage site in a bid to promote the gudeuljang or ondol stone culture around the world."

Many are hoping the precious site representing Korea’s unique ondol culture can win World Heritage recognition.