2023-10-09 18:00:08
On April 19, 2011, Hampyeong-gun, Jeollanam-do, created a 2.18m tall golden bat made of 162kg of gold mixed with silver and copper to coincide with the opening of the 2008 ‘Hampyeong World Butterfly and Insect Expo’. This golden bat statue on display at the Golden Bat Ecology Center in Expo Park jumped from 2.7 billion won to 8.6 billion won as the price of gold soared./Chosun DB
The ‘Golden Bat Statue’ in Hampyeong-gun, Jeollanam-do, which contains 162kg of pure gold and is valued at 12.9 billion won, is moving after 16 years. Hampyeong-gun announced on the 9th that it plans to build a new home for the Golden Bat Statue within Hampyeong Expo Park. It is said that the exhibition hall will be equipped with a strengthened security system and will be more convenient for viewing.
Currently, the Golden Bat Statue is kept at the Golden Bat Ecology Exhibition Hall in Hwayang Neighborhood Park, Hampyeong-eup. It is about 500 meters away from Hampyeong Expo Park. It is normally kept private, but is only open to the public for about 15 days during the ‘Hampyeong Butterfly Festival’ every spring and the ‘National Festival of the Republic of Korea’ in the fall.
Hampyeong-gun is building a two-story cultural relics exhibition hall next to the Butterfly and Insect Ecology Center at Expo Park, and has decided to install a separate ‘Golden Bat Exhibition Hall’ of 87㎡ (26 pyeong) at the entrance on the first floor. It is planned to start in December and be completed by the end of April next year. The price of the 1.5m wide, 2.18m high golden bat statue when it was produced was about 2.7 billion won, but due to the rise in gold prices, it now amounts to 12.9 billion won (market price as of the 6th).
As its value rose, there were attempts to steal the Golden Bat Award. In March 2019, a three-member thieves attempted to steal the Golden Bat Statue using a cutter and a hammer, but ended up failing. When the burglar alarm sounded when the iron shutter at the entrance with the lock removed was raised about a third of the way, they put down the crime tools and ran away, but were later caught by the police.
Hampyeong-gun is investing 500 million won in relocating the Golden Bat Award, and a significant portion of it is said to be related to the security system. We plan to install four-layer anti-theft devices, including security shutters and bulletproof glass, and sign up for annual theft insurance worth 22 million won. Under 24-hour surveillance by a security company, public officials take turns on duty in teams of two. We plan to install motion detection sensors inside the exhibition hall and install several CCTVs inside and outside the exhibition hall. Kim Gwang-deok, head of the Hampyeong-gun facility management team, said, “We decided to move forward with the relocation project to allow many visitors to see it, but since it is an expensive work, we are very concerned about security.”
A colony of golden bats was discovered in a cave in the Gosanbong area of Daedong-myeon, Hampyeong-gun in February 1999. It is designated as the No. 1 endangered mammal and natural monument (No. 452) by the Ministry of Environment.
A total of 162 golden bats were discovered in Hampyeong-gun, so 162 kg of pure gold was used to create a golden bat statue, and the exhibition began in April 2008. Since the sculpture would be distorted if made only with pure gold, 162 kg of pure gold was mixed with silver (9.25 kg) and copper (13.88 kg) to ensure durability. The Golden Bat Statue, which was an example of a waste of taxpayers’ money, has increased in value due to the rise in gold prices and is called ‘Hampyeong Treasure No. 1’.
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