Operation of Haman Meteorite Crater Exhibition and Promotion Booth at the 37th International Geological Congress
Hapcheon County in Gyeongnam operated a promotional booth for the Hapcheon meteorite crater at the IGC 2024 International Geological Congress held at BEXCO in Busan, making every effort to raise global awareness of Hapcheon.
The 37th International Geological Congress, known as the “Olympics of Geological Science,” is an academic event held every four years, and this is the first time it has been hosted in Korea. As the most prestigious academic conference in the field of geological science with a 147-year history, this year’s event brought together over 7,000 geological science professionals from more than 120 countries. Under the theme “Great Travelers: Voyage to a United Earth,” the congress featured a variety of academic conferences as well as programs such as the Geo Expo (exhibition), film festival, and outdoor geological excursions.
Hapcheon County applied to participate in the Geo Expo (exhibition) at the beginning of the year under the theme of “Geotourism and Geoparks,” in order to promote the geological value of the Hapcheon meteorite crater at this global academic event, and operated a promotional booth in Exhibition Hall 1 during the event.
The promotional booth was organized in collaboration with the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, which first identified the Hapcheon meteorite crater, to efficiently convey information. In particular, the exhibition of the actual “shocked cone rock,” which serves as decisive evidence, received an enthusiastic response from geologists visiting the site.
In addition, among the 34 field trip courses where geologists from around the world could directly visit Korea’s geological landmarks, the Hapcheon meteorite crater course was selected. Accordingly, international geologists and officials from the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources visited Hapcheon County for a two-day, one-night schedule to tour major sites such as Daamsan Mountain and the drilling core locations.
They confirmed the geological significance of the Hapcheon meteorite crater and the county’s main tourist attractions, and plan to explore various ways to link the Hapcheon meteorite crater as a must-visit course in future domestic and international geological academic conferences.
Notably, on the last day of the congress, the 30th of last month, County Governor Kim Yuncheol personally visited the site, met with key domestic and international booths, consulted with experts on “The Present and Future of the Hapcheon Meteorite Crater,” and announced plans to accelerate projects related to the meteorite crater moving forward.
Governor Kim emphasized, “Promoting the Hapcheon meteorite crater at an international academic and cultural event like the International Geological Congress was a great opportunity to showcase Hapcheon’s outstanding geological attractions and landscapes to the world,” adding, “We will devote all our efforts to building various infrastructure so that Korea’s only Hapcheon meteorite crater can be established as a leading tourism resource for the future of Hapcheon County.”
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