Went to a cave and had a horrific terror experience... Turned off the lights and left the visitors behind after work

Chungbuk Chungju City Tourist Attraction Hwalok Cave
Iron Gate Closed Before Closing Time, No Staff Present
Regulatory Gaps Create Safety Blind Spot in Artificial Cave

At a cave, a tourist attraction in Chungju, Chungbuk Province, employees turned off the lights inside the cave and left early before the closing time, causing visitors to experience several minutes of fear in complete darkness.

According to Yonhap News on the 7th, Mr. A, a man in his 40s living in Daejeon who experienced the incident, visited Hwalok Cave in Chungju, Chungbuk Province, with his wife around 5 p.m. on the 30th of last month. Before entering, they were informed at the ticket booth that the visiting hours were until 6 p.m. After touring the cave, they were heading toward the exit. However, at 5:54 p.m., about six minutes before closing, the lights suddenly went out, and the cave quickly turned into complete darkness.

Startled by the sudden inability to see even an inch ahead, Mr. A turned on his phone’s flashlight and barely found the exit. However, he then encountered a large iron door taller than a person that was firmly closed, causing further difficulty. He was only able to escape after lifting the lock under the iron door.

Inside Hwalok Cave in Hwalok-dong, Chungju-si, Chungbuk, where a tourist was trapped during visiting hours. Photo by Yonhap News

Mr. A told Yonhap News, "When I got out of the cave, it was not yet 6 p.m. (the closing time), but there was no one who appeared to be a cave staff member," adding, "The one minute trapped in the enclosed space with the lights suddenly off felt like an hour."

He also pointed out problems with the responses from the cave management company and Chungju City Hall after the incident. "After escaping the cave, I tried to find and call the company representative’s contact number, but only a general phone number was available, and I couldn’t get through. I also called the city hall’s duty office to complain, but there was no apology or action for a week," he said. "Because of the fear we experienced this time, my wife and I will not visit the cave again," he added.

He further criticized, "There are various recreational facilities inside the cave such as steam rooms, game machines, and boats, so more caution is needed, but the employees showed a lack of safety awareness by leaving work early without checking whether visitors were still inside or adhering to their working hours." On the 3rd, Mr. A compiled these details and sent a certified letter to the mayor of Chungju demanding civil and criminal compensation.

Hwalok Cave (formerly Dongyang Mine) was Asia’s largest mine with a length of 57 km, where talc, white jade, and white cloud stone were mined for nearly 100 years since 1922 during the Japanese colonial period. After mining was halted, a 2.5 km section has been operated as a tourist site by a private company since 2019. Currently, the cave is known on social media as a popular date spot and photo location, attracting over 400,000 visitors annually.

Since Hwalok Cave is an artificial cave rather than a natural one, it is a safety blind spot with insufficient related regulations under the Tourism Safety Act. A Chungju City Hall official said, "There were guide lights spaced every 20 meters inside the cave, but many visitors seemed too startled to notice them," adding, "Because Hwalok Cave is artificial, there are no permitting regulations, and safety issues related to electricity, firefighting, and amusement devices must be inspected in consultation with relevant departments such as the fire station and the Korea Electrical Safety Corporation."

As the controversy grew over this incident, Lee Young-deok, CEO of Youngwoo Resources, the cave management company, issued an apology, stating, "We sincerely apologize to customers who suffered due to our failure to comply with business hours," and "We acknowledge that all situations were our fault and plan to actively pursue all necessary follow-up measures and compensation procedures to the fullest extent. We will also take all possible steps to prevent recurrence in the future."