Sado Mine Memorial Service Marred for 3rd Consecutive Year: What Is Japan Refusing to Acknowledge?

The South Korean government will hold a memorial ceremony on November 13 in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, for Korean victims of forced mobilization at the Sado Mine.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that government officials, including South Korean Ambassador to Japan Lee Hyuk, and nine bereaved family members from Korea will attend the ceremony.

Following the service, attendees plan to lay flowers at the former site of the dormitories where Korean laborers lived and visit locations related to forced mobilization.

This marks the third consecutive year that the South Korean government has held a memorial ceremony separate from Japan.

Earlier, Japan held its own memorial service, but again this year, it made no explicit mention of the "forced mobilization" of Koreans.

The controversy began in 2024 when the Sado Mine was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

At that time, Japan promised to share the full history, including that of Korean laborers, and to host annual memorial services.

However, the term "forced mobilization" was omitted from the very first ceremony. Although the South Korean government raised issues with Tokyo, Japan's stance has remained unchanged.

At the time of the World Heritage listing, Japan did acknowledge that Korean laborers worked at the mine and were assigned to dangerous underground tasks.

Even then, however, Japan failed to clearly acknowledge the nature of "forced mobilization"—that Korean laborers were brought to work against their will—and did not accept responsibility, maintaining this stance at memorial services held following the inscription.

Ultimately, because Japan has refused to clearly acknowledge the "forced mobilization," the memorial ceremonies are being held separately for the third straight year.

Reported by Choi Jae-yeong | Video by Kim Min-ji | Design by Lee Soo-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.