"Explanation of Forced Labor Still Insufficient"... UNESCO Recommends 'Improvements' to Japan

[Anchor]

It has already been two years since the Sado Mine in Japan, a site of forced labor for Koreans, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. However, contrary to the Japanese government's promises at the time of inscription, the explanation regarding the full history, including the forced labor of Koreans, remains insufficient. UNESCO has recommended that Japan make improvements.

Reporter Kim Ayeong has the story.

[Reporter]

In July 2024, the Sado Mine in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

While it was Japan's largest gold mine from the Edo period, it was also a place where approximately 1,000 Koreans were subjected to forced labor during the Japanese colonial period.

At the time of inscription, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee recommended that the Japanese government reflect the 'full history' of all periods at the site. To secure cooperation from the South Korean government, the Japanese government promised to install exhibits and hold a joint memorial service.

However, due to disagreements over issues such as explicitly mentioning forced mobilization in the memorial address, the joint memorial service has not been held for two years.

[Jeong Seok-gwan / Bereaved family member of a victim of forced mobilization at Sado Mine: (As it stands now) it is a negative. There is not even a score to give. The facilities are poor. They need to improve them. They must accurately indicate that (Koreans) were brought there and forced to work.]

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre published a draft decision on the state of conservation of the Sado Mine, which serves as an interim evaluation, on its website today (July 15). The document includes an assessment that Japan's efforts to describe the history have been insufficient.

While acknowledging that Japan has taken additional measures for interpretation and exhibitions, the committee stated that the 'full history' is still not sufficiently addressed and recommended that Japan consult closely with relevant countries to improve this.

The committee also demanded that an additional implementation report be submitted by December next year and stated its plan to review it again at the World Heritage Committee meeting the following year.

The South Korean government believes this result reflects its consistent position that Japan's follow-up measures have been inadequate.

Unless there are objections, this draft decision will be adopted at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting to be held in Busan next week.

(Video reporting: Kang Si-woo, Video editing: Jo Mu-hwan)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.