@Brendan Quirk POW's, slaves (mainly Koreans) were forced to work in the coal mines here during WWII. They worked them to death, then tossed their bodies down shafts. I've been photographing a few of the abandoned mines for over 20 years. Two of the mines (including this one) have world heritage designation...even with their brutal past. Coal mines had been a huge part of this town for centuries. The last one shut down in '97 (Manda which is my favourite to photograph. I've got a few from this series in my gallery). Cheers and thanks for looking.