What if you could get rich by finding a rock?
South Koreans are getting their hands dirty, quite literally turning over every new leaf to uncover a special type of rock for some bonus cash.
A rare meteor shower that took place in the southeastern city of Jinju on March 9 scattered chunks of meteorites and sparked a frenzied hunt for chondrites rumored to be worth more than $83,000.
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The South Korean media is adding fuel to the fire, likening the discovery of a meteorite to winning a million-dollar jackpot. An official from the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea (CHAK) calls the frenzy “media hype.”
People are searching with eyes, hands, GPS devices, and metal detectors to find these galactic souvenirs. The first discovered chunk of meteorite, which weighed around 20 pounds, was found in a greenhouse near Jinju; a local resident found a second weighing in at almost 9 pounds.
An American meteorite hunter has been reportedly handing out business cards in the local area, offering to buy pieces from anyone who finds them.
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Local greenhouse owners, fed up with people snooping around their property, are putting up warning signs against any lurking trespassers.
Scientists have confirmed that both discovered rocks are bona fide space stones. Nonetheless, ownership of the meteorites, and therefore the right to sell them and gain profit, lies in a legal grey area because of lack of provisions in civil law.
Prime Minister Chung Hong-Won suggests that the government should maintain the meteorites for research or preserve them as a natural monument.
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