A petition for a prove into the Legoland Project has been posted in the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea with the issues of destroying historic sites and a secret agreement to reduce rental income, following the controversy over the waste of tax and unfair contract.

On July 24, VANK, the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea, said in a press release that the petition has been launched for the thorough investigation of the National Assembly on the issues related to the historic site in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do Province.

The petition is for three issues regarding the Legoland Project – △even though the score of preservation of original state of the Jungdo assests was very high with 91.77 points – its standard is 76 points -, it has not been preserved △the problems occurred during the process of excavation have not been properly managed and △the thorough investigation should be conducted for the construction process of the Legoland.

The petition will be submitted if more than 100,000 people sign for it within the period of 30 days through the National Assembly’s petition website. After that, the petition will be transfered to the relevant committee based on its contents where makes a decision if the petition needs to be discussed in the plenary session or discard it after reviewing it.

The VANK emphasized that the Jungdo, located in the Uiam Lake in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do Province, is a massive prehistoric site with relics and remains that will help research the prehistoric history of the Republic of Korea between late Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

“After several excavations, a total of 3,330 remains – 1 of Ditch from the Bronze Age, 1,423 of residential areas, and 166 of tombs including dolmens – and the Ditch – defensive ditch surrounding the village – have been found in the Jungdo, which considered the area as an ancient planned city. But during the process of developing the Legoland, the remains have been seriously damaged” they added.

After quoting from Lutz Fiedler, an archaeology professor at the University of Marburg, Germany, saying “not only does each remain have its value, but each and every structure and system excavated there reflect a high level of culture and they should not be damaged under any circumstances”, the VANK stressed that the National Assembly should conduct the thorough investigation on the sites and try to preserve them globally recognized for their archaeological value.

The VANK also launched an international petition urging UNESCO and its member states to take part in the preservation of the Jungdo site in Chuncheon.

http://www.prkorea.com/jungdo

Incredibly distressing story coming out of Korea.
Legoland has begun demolishing an ancient Bronze age site to build an amusement park.

This must be stopped.

Please sign and share!

http://maywespeak.com/dolmen

The Merlin group of UK is currently building a huge scale of theme park known as “Lego Land” in Jung-do region, Chun-cheon City, Gwangwon province, South Korea. The region had been reported as a significant and meaningful archaeological site since 1977. It is defined as a Bronze Age relic and can be compared to the ‘Stonehenge’ in the UK. The site is over a million kilometres square. Merlin group is ravaging the site despite these important facts. The site is severely damaged due to a series of construction.

The site represents not only Korean history but the virtues of humanity. There are approximately 9000 prehistoric artifacts, 1266 prehistoric home features, and 149 tombs found. Among artifacts, Lute-shaped Bronze Dagger and Song Guk-ri type bronze axe prove the existence of Ancient Joseon, which is regarded as the first state of Korean history. Its city size dwellings, palisade, and tombs explain the Bronze Age people lived in East Asia from the BCE 14th century to the BCE 12th century. The site suggests the remarkable megalithic culture in the Northeastern Asia region by its various dolmens and relics.

Charles Gurrasa who is the senior independent director of Merlin Entertainment plc. and who is also in charge of the tourism sector of English Heritage. While Merlin preciously cares for UK heritage, they do not hesitate to destroy the ancestral/cultural heritage in Korea. What a ‘moral hazard’ for Merlin group! It is a disgraceful and disrespectful way to ignore Korean citizens.

After 1 year, the site could be (will be) fully converted into tons of plastic amusement park. It is an important matter that cannot be ignored. It angers citizens in various sectors of our society. – More than 100,000 citizens participated in the Blue House National Petition requesting suspension of Legoland Construction.

– Video link: https://youtu.be/BGdpVctCvho

– Petition link: http://maywespeak.com/dolmen

The “Global Promotion Campaign” criticizing the development of Legoland on the Jungdo historic site that VANK is promoting around the world was reported by an European media specialized in history.

VANK said that the Ancient Origin, the press specialized in archaeological history in Ireland, lately reported on details about the campaign, which criticized the development of Legoland on Jungdo.

VANK expects that the Legoland project conducted in Gangwon-do Province to spread to the global through the report by the European press specialized in history under the situation that around 100,000 foreigners around the world have been responding to the campaign promoted through VANK Facebook.

On June 10, 2020, the Ancient Origin reported on historic value of Jundgo destroyed by Legoland and Koreans’ efforts to protect cultural heritages, along with the VANK’s global campaign.

In particular, the media also introduced two YouTube videos – the first five-minute one is about how to participate in the global petition posted by VANK and the other is to promote the issue of developing the Jungdo area to the international community.

Also, the videos show the English petition informing the member states of UNESCO of the largest historic remains of the Bronze Age in the Korean Peninsular buried by the development of Legoland and 14 global promotional posters made by VANK in 4 languages.

The posters are composed of the contents to draw the attention of the global citizens by giving a question that ‘what would you do if Legoland is built after demolishing worldwide heritage such as the Stonehenge in the United Kingdom, the Parthenon in Greece, the Pyramid in Egypt, the Colosseum in Rome, the Palace of Versailles in France, and Angkor Wat in Cambodia?, and explain the Jungdo historic site in the Republic of Korea.

At the end of the article, the media also added the website link of the global petition to encourage global participation.

In addition to the article, the media also posted the article on their social media such as Facebook and Twitter, which have around 740,000 members, and foreigners are also of same opinions for the issue and angry at the fact of developing Legoland on Jungdo.

VANK said “the reporter sent an email to thank for informing the issue ungdo and it is shameful to develop Legoland without knowing what the priority is”, and added “we plan to raise the issue of the destruction of Jungod, the largest historic remains of the Bronze Age in the Korean Peninsula, caused by developing Legoland to the global level by introducing the article to the 204 member states of UNESCO”.

The “Global Promotion Campaign” criticizing the development of Legoland on the Jungdo historic site that VANK is promoting around the world was reported by an European history media with great interest.

Recently, Ancient Origin, the press specialized in archaeological history in Ireland, gave details about the campaign, which criticized the development of Legoland on Jungdo.

VANK expects that the Legoland project conducted in Gangwon-do Province to spread to the global through the report by the European press specialized in history under the situation that around 100,000 foreigners around the world have been responding to the campaign promoted through VANK Facebook.

On June 10, 2020, the Ancient Origin reported on historic value of Jundgo destroyed by Legoland and Koreans’ efforts to protect cultural heritages, along with the VANK’s global campaign.

In particular, the media also introduced two YouTube videos – the first five-minute one is about how to participate in the global petition posted by VANK and the other is to promote the issue of developing the Jungdo area to the international community.

Also, the videos show the English petition informing the member states of UNESCO of the largest historic remains of the Bronze Age in the Korean Peninsular buried by the development of Legoland and 14 global promotional posters made by VANK in 4 languages – Korean, English, French, and Italian.

In addition, the posters are composed of the contents to draw the attention of the global citizens by giving a question that ‘what would you do if Legoland is built after demolishing worldwide heritage such as the Stonehenge in the United Kingdom, the Parthenon in Greece, the Pyramid in Egypt, the Colosseum in Rome, the Palace of Versailles in France, and Angkor Wat in Cambodia?, and explain the Jungdo historic site in the Republic of Korea.

At the end of the article, the media also added the website link of the global petition to encourage global participation.

The reporter sent an email to VANK saying, “Thank you for informing us of the issue of Jungdo and it is shameful to develop Legoland without knowing what the priority is.”

A director of VANK, Gi-tae Park, said “we plan to raise the issue of the destruction of Jungod, the largest historic remains of the Bronze Age in the Korean Peninsula, caused by developing Legoland to the global level by introducing the article to the 204 member states of UNESCO”.

Here at Ancient Origins we receive many emails and social media messages accusing folks of willfully damaging archaeology and ancient sites of cultural heritage. Last year saw several cases of teen vandalism in the USA and in the UK and we even covered a story about the willful destruction of Native American sacred sites by an overzealous park manager.

Yesterday, we received a compassionate email from an archaeology major in South Korea, Hojun Shin, who told us that a “1 million square meter archaeological site is soon to be converted into an amusement park featuring hundreds of tons of plastic,” and he also said the plan “angers citizens in various sectors of our society.”

My editor asked me to engage with Hojun Shin and to check the validity of his apparently horrific story, and my investigation began with a December 2019 article published in Business Korea which details the plans for a new LEGOLAND project in Chuncheon, on Jungdo Island, the capital of the province.

Piecing Together the Evidence

The Business Korea news feature states that after seven years were “wasted due to disputes,” in May of this year the provincial government signed an agreement with Merlin Entertainments PLC, which operates LEGOLAND parks around the world, after what is described as “a heated debate among the 46 members of the assembly.” Planned to be built by 2021, LEGOLAND will be raised on a 1.06 million square meter archaeological site in Chuncheon, and the complex will include a theme park, resort facilities and shopping facilities, at the cost of 300 billion won, or about US $265 million.

Signs of prehistoric life had already been detected at the site in the 1960s and 80s and an archaeological exploration by the National Museum of Korea found 270 sites for dolmens and houses, proving that the “entire island is a treasure trove.” The seven years of “wasted time” were caused by a lack of funds, changes of the development company, and the pesky excavation of cultural assets and artifacts after the 2014 discovery of Korea ’s largest prehistoric site, on Jungdo Island.

An Rare and Rich Archaeological Haven

When archaeologists excavated an ancient village on Jungdo Island, including its boundary ditch, they found house foundations and several burial dolmens, a copper sword, and several fan-shaped bronze axes, all described as exceptionally “rare and academically important.” According to a 2014 Korea Joongang Daily article, the “1,400 relics from the Bronze Age ,” include 100 dolmens (stone tombs) and 900 housing sites, which prove the location is a valuable archaeological haven, still packed with artifacts left behind by those who lived on the peninsula thousands of years ago.”

In total, approximately 9000 prehistoric artifacts have been discovered, including 1266 prehistoric home features, and 149 tombs, and back in 2014 local people opposing the construction of LEGOLAND and the destruction of the massive archaeological site, petitioned that the island should feature a “Dolmen Land,” where people can experience the prehistoric way of life in Korea.

Follow the Money Path

The archaeological site measures over a million square meters and is about to be buried beneath a temple of plastic. Generally in life, when something terrible is occurring and makes no sense, “always follow the path of the money,” and reason often emerges. Thus, the next step in my investigation was to find some answers as to who had the most to gain from commercial tourist project that directly threatens Korean heritage. Naturally, I was to look at the folks who run Merlin Entertainment PLC, who will manage the new LEGOLAND.

Merlin Entertainment PLC, according to Hyung Yu Park at Heritage Tourism, manage “70 attractions in 17 countries,” including several UK heritage sites such as Warwick Castle, Madame Tussauds in London and Blackpool, Sea Life Blackpool and National SEA LIFE Centre Birmingham. However, it would seem that a new LEGOLAND is more important than preserving a vast archaeological center of Korean heritage. So who then is the person who stands to gain the most from the new LEGOLAND business venture, which according to Hojun Shin, “sacrifices Korean heritage,” and enrages the public.

Identifying the Mastermind

Until November 2019, the senior independent director of Merlin Entertainment, PLC was Charles Mark Gurassa, who is also the chairman of the British television station, Channel 4, the Deputy Chairman at EasyJet, PLC and the CEO of Thomson Travel Group, PLC. This is the businessman who spearheaded the LEGOLAND project in South Korea, which directly threatens 1 million square meters of archaeology.

Where many journalists would frame-up Mr Charles Mark Gurassa as some kind of in-compassionate corporate monster crushing thousands of years of indigenous archaeology for cash, created through heaps of eco-disastrous plastic bricks, it is here impossible to do so, because Charles Mark Gurassa is the Chairman of English Heritage’s Remuneration and Appointments Committee, and a Director of English Heritage Trading Limited.

The area had been earmarked for development for years even before the LEGOLAND bid, so one assumes the prehistoric site would have been remodeled for some purpose eventually, so some mitigation that archaeologists were permitted to investigate the site thoroughly before the development. But still, another victim of the seemingly unending quest to keep us restless humans amused.

While the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea, VANK has launched an international petition calling for UNESCO and its member states to join in the preservation of the historic remains, a global campaign to promote the remains of the Bronze Age buried due to the development of Legoland has been successful.

VANK recently made 14 global promotional posters – in English, Korean, French, and Italian) – introducing the issue of Jungdo by citing the world’s cultrual heritage and distributed them to let historians, archaeologists, relevant professors and UNESCO member states know about it.

The posters are composed of the contents to draw the attention of world citizens by giving a question that ‘what would you do if Legoland is built after demolishing worldwide heritage such as the Stonehenge in the United Kingdom, the Parthenon in Greece, the Pyramid in Egypt, the Colosseum in Rome, the Palace of Versailles in France, and Angkor Wat in Cambodia?, and are linked to the petition website explaining the Jungdo historic site in the Republic of Korea.

In particular, the posters that VANK posted on their Facebook for other countries such as the US, Canada, the UK, Peru, India, the Philippines and Indonesia have gained the number of 76,000 ‘Like’ and 569 people have shared them with their families, friends and neighbors just for 10 days, from May 28 to June 8.

Also, total 420 comments have been left on the posting, and most of them said they are against destroying cultural heritage and asked its supporting materials written in English.

As supporting the campaign, William Grant from the UK mentioned that “They should find somewhere else for Legoland and also turn the Jungdo site into a tourist attraction making sure that the site is also protected.“

Also, Kunal Dasgupta from India pointed out that “Yes, as a Professor of History myself, I understand the far flung impact of destroying our Historical heritage sites. I condemn this act of terror. Didn’t expected such kind of demonic acts from the Korean state, which itself is always under cultural challenge right from it’s origin.”

Moreover, Paul Turner from the UK said that “Where abouts more precisely is this Jungdo heritage site. I can’t find any information on it, I’d like to know more about it.“

A president of VANK, Park Gi-Tae said that “by letting the world know about the Jungdo heritage which is the Korean ancient remains and world-class historic site, we will preserve the great cultural heritage of humankind and also the Korean identity”.

VANK, Voluntary Agency Network of Korea, started a petition to stop construction of the Legoland in Chuncheon

Urged UNESCO and its members to participate in preservation of Jungdo heritage

“What if the Legoland is built after the Stonehenge in the UK, the Parthenon in Greece or the Pyramid in Egypt is demolished?”

The development of Legoland proceeded by the government of Gangwon Province is emerging to an international issue, causing the controversy of destroying the heritage site and wasting tax.

Lately, the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea, VANK, started a international petition, saying that the development of the Legoland is the action to destroy the heritage and urging UNESCO and the member states to participate in its preservation.

The VANK appealed for attention, asking if the international society would tolerate the construction of Legoland after destroying the worldwide famous heritage such as the Stonehenge in the UK, the Parthenon in Greece, the Pyramid in Egypt, the Colosseum in Italy, and so on.

They highlighted that the Legoland is being built with destruction of the Jungdo prehistoric site in the Republic of Korea in 2020, and the amount of 9,000 relics, 1,266 house sites and 149 tombs of the prehistoric period have been excavated in the Jungdo so far.

Also, they criticized that the culture and belief of humankind in the Jungdo are deliberately destroyed by the short-sighted development policy, and we are on the verge of losing the important opportunity to see, hear, and learn about expression and ideas of humankind.

Moreover, they demanded the government to take responsible measures as a member of UNESCO.

According to the Article 3 of UNESCO Declaration concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage, states should take all appropriate measures to prevent, avoid, stop and suppress acts of intentional destruction of cultural heritage.

They also criticized the government of Gangwon Province that has proceeding its development and the Cultural Heritage Administration that has permitted it.

They said that the government of Gangwon Province, where the Jungdo is located, and the Cultural Heritage Administration, the responsible ministry, have permitted and looked on the construction, instead of taking actions to prevent, stop, and ban the development of Legoland, which is an act of intentional destruction of the Jungdo.

Besides, they emphasized that the globe should pay attention to this, saying that the international community recognizes the importance of the protection of cultural heritage and takes responsibility to fight against its intentional destruction in any form so that such cultural heritage may be transmitted to the succeeding generations.

They urged “UNESCO should investigate the deliberate destruction of the Jungdo historic site in the Republic of Korea and make a recommendation to stop it and also provide judicial and administrative assistance for the impending destruction of cultural heritage of the Jungdo site.”

In addition, “member states of UNESCO should make a recommendation to ban the intentional destruction of the Jungdo site in the Republic of Korea”, they added.

UNESCO established for the purpose of world peace and human development after the World War Ⅱ in 1945, according to the Korean National Commission for UNESCO. During the war, between 1942 and 1944, education ministers from the Allied Powers gathered in London and agreed with establishment of an international organization for the reconstruction of education and world peace. After that, the representatives from 37 countries adopted the UNESCO Charter on November 16, 1945.

The mission of UNESCO, as an agency affiliated with the United Nations, is to contribute to the world peace and sustainable development by promoting the international cooperation in the fields of education, science, culture and information communication. There are currently 193 full and 11 associate members, and the Republic of Korea joined on June 14, 1950, as its 55th member.

Despite the strong criticism, a governor of Gangwon Province, Choi Moon-soon said “the Legoland is the first global theme park in the Republic of Korea and will be the most beautiful theme part in the world” at an on-site briefing.

Regarding the plan to preserve the cultural assets, he mentioned that “compared to other regions where cover transparent glass to manage the assets, we will establish a historical park to attract tourists and cooperate with the city of Chuncheon to display other cultural assets in the region”.

The Voluntary Agency Network of Korea, VANK, posted an English petition in the biggest petition website, giving the information on ‘an issue about the biggest heritage from the Bronze Age in Korean peninsula, destroyed by the development of Legoland’ to member states of UNESCO.

After reaching the first target of the petition, 100,000 people, the VANK will report the result to the members of UNESCO, and thus, form international opinion to resolve the issue with the global community.

In addition to the petition, they created 14 global promotion posters and posted them on their social media to let the world citizens know about the issue.

The posters consist of the contents presenting the issue on the construction of Legoland after destroying the worldwide famous heritage such as the Stonehenge in the UK, the Parthenon in Greece, the Pyramid in Egypt, the Colosseum in Italy, the Palace of Versailles in France and the Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

The Jungdo is the world-class prehistoric site where the amount of 9,000 relics, 1,266 house sites and 149 tombs of the prehistoric period have been excavated so far.

In the excavation of buried cultural assets in the Jungdo, the dwellings and agricultural remains of the Bronze Age such as dolmens, housing sites and large-scale ditch to protect the village have been discovered, which will mark a milestone in the research on the Bronze Age in the world.

Especially, the large-scale ditch to protect the village surrounds the town as the boundary, showing that the surplus of products was accumulated and the community-dominating order was formed here.

Also, it is the first square-shaped ditch found in the Korean peninsular, having a great value to the study of history in the world.

The VANK said “Damage to cultural property belonging to any people whatsoever means damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind, since each people makes its contribution to the culture of the world, and even, the developer of Legoland is suspected of dumping construction waste in the Jungdo site, and has not complied with the preservation guidelines of cultural heritage while its construction.”

And they demand the followings to the UNESCO headquarters and member states.

▲ UNESCO should investigate the deliberate destruction of the Jungdo historic site in the Republic of Korea and make a recommendation to stop it.

▲ UNESCO should provide judicial and administrative assistance for the impending destruction of cultural heritage of the Jungdo site.

▲ Member states of UNESCO should make a recommendation to ban the intentional destruction of the Jungdo in the Republic of Korea.

On June 1st, The Voluntary Agency Network of Korea, VANK, announced that they are launching a global campaign to inform historians, archaeologists, university history professors and UNESCO member states about the largest heritage site of the Bronze Age in the Korean peninsula ruined by the development of Legoland.

The VANK posted an English petition in the biggest petition website, giving the information on an issue about the biggest heritage from the Bronze Age in Korean peninsular, destroyed by the development of Legoland.

In addition to the petition, they created 14 global promotion posters(English, Korean, French, and Italian) and posted them on their social media to let the world citizens know about the issue.

The posters consist of the contents that can draw the attention and present the issue on the construction of Legoland after destroying the worldwide famous heritage such as the Stonehenge in the UK, the Parthenon in Greece, the Pyramid in Egypt, the Colosseum in Italy, the Palace of Versailles in France and the Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Also, there is a link to go to the petition website where they explain about the Jungdo in the Republic of Korea.

For just a couple of days since they posted the poster that targets British people, saying “What if the Legoland is built after the Stonehenge is demolished in the United Kingdom?”, 31,000 foreigners have put a like, 158 people have shared and 108 comments have been written.

“The culture and beliefs of humankind in the Jungdo are deliberately destroyed by the short-sighted development policy, and we are on the verge of losing the important opportunity to see, hear, and learn about expression and ideas of humankind” the VANK said.

So far, the amount of 9,000 relics, 1,266 house sites and 149 tombs of the prehistoric period have been excavated in the Jungdo.

In the excavation of buried cultural assets in the Jungdo, the dwellings and agricultural remains of the Bronze Age such as dolmens, housing sites and large-scale ditch to protect the village have been discovered, which will mark a milestone in the research on the Bronze Age in the world.

Especially, the large-scale ditch to protect the village is the first square-shaped one found in the Korean peninsular, and surrounds the town as the boundary, showing that the surplus of products was accumulated and the community-dominating order was formed here.

The Jungdo site is regarded as the key historic heritage to mark the world history of the Bronze Age, preserving the trace of people living in one place for more than 1,000 years.

So, the VANK emphasized that the world-class prehistoric relics that have not been found yet will be destroyed without excavation, if the construction of Legoland is continued.

Park Gi-tae, Even, The leader of VANK, said “its developer is suspected of dumping the construction waste in the Jungdo, and has not complied with the preservation guidelines of the cultural heritage while its construction. And also, there is a group of 48 dolmens, which is unusual to find such amount of dolmens in one area, but the dolmens are carried in plastic bags, and even some of them are treated as miscellaneous stones.”

And he emphasized that “The international community recognizes the importance of the protection of cultural heritage and takes responsibility to fight against its intentional destruction in any form.”