Nestled deep in South Korea’s mountain terrain, Taebaek was the capital of the country’s coal mining industry in the 1960s and 1970s. - The Korea Herald/ANN
TAEBAEK, Gangwon Province: Kim Kyung-rae, a 60-year-old taxi driver in Taebaek, rarely picks up young passengers. Most of his customers are elderly.
But it wasn’t always like this. In the 1970s and 1980s, young, eager job seekers flocked to Taebaek, then a bustling coal-mining town. People would joke that even dogs carried 10,000-won (US$7) bills, so prosperous was the town. For many, Taebaek was a second hometown.
