Mining to sustain food and provide education, a business model case study from Korea in 1930s and 1940s, Yoochan Kim

 Mining to sustain food and provide education, a business model case study from Korea in 1930s and 1940s, potential application to indigenous mining communities

, 1,2, Babak Aghlmand2, Erkan Topal1

1 Western Australian School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering, Curtin University,Kalgoorlie, WA 6430, Australia

2 Governance & Technical Stewardship: Peak Downs Mine, BHP Coal, Winchester, QLD 4744, Australia, babak.aghlmand2@bhp.com

Key Words

Sustainable mining, history of mining, ethical mining, socioeconomic impact of mining

Abstract

As the era of ESG is emerging, the importance of the socioeconomic impact of mining operations is emphasized. Today, mining operations have been the target of criticism for their adverse impacts on the local community, notably on the following themes: income inequality, inadequate education opportunities, and a lack of collaboration with the local community, which may pose a potential risk of conflict.

The purpose of the case study is to highlight the business model of ‘’ in Korea, which was a native-owned company during Japanese annexation in the 1930s and 1940s. Its slogan and corporate philosophy were "farmers are landowners, miners are mine owners". Its key functions were to fund the following: 

• the establishment of a fee-free engineering college; 
• the establishment of a publishing business that eased access to books in an effort to lift the literacy rate; 
• the purchase of farming land, offering cheap lease fees for local farmers to ensure a self-sustaining food supply; 
• continuous donations to local communities to lift farmers from poverty; and 
• the consequent donation of its wealth to farmers and educational institutes when it was dismantled in 1943.

Although its dream to establish a sustainable business model to help build "society where all working people prosper together" was short-lived, its efforts to collaborate with the local community to improve food supply, reduce social inequality, and provide engineering education opportunities is a good case study to apply for modern mining companies to overcome potential conflicts with remote indigenous and local communities.