Japan's Forced Labor Distortion Exhibition... Ministry of Foreign Affairs Plans to Raise 'Broken Promise' Issue with UNESCO

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The South Korean government has decided to raise concerns with the UNESCO headquarters regarding Japan's display facility on Hashima Island (Gunkanjima) that distorts the history of forced labor during Japan's colonial rule.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 16th, the South Korean government plans to raise the issue with UNESCO, stating that the historical distortion exhibition facility at the Japan Industrial Heritage Information Center, which was opened to the public on the 15th, has failed to fulfill the promises made during the UNESCO inscription process.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the competent authority, will send a letter to UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, conveying this intention, and also plans to inform the 21 member countries of the World Heritage Committee about Japan's failure to keep its promises.

The day before, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Koji Domita, the Japanese Ambassador to South Korea, to the ministry building and strongly protested, stating that the Hashima facility, established as a Meiji-era industrial heritage site at the Japan Industrial Heritage Information Center, did not keep its promise to properly inform the history of forced labor.

In July 2015, the World Heritage Committee decided to inscribe 23 sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution as World Heritage Sites (WHC Decision 30 COM 8B.14) and recommended the establishment of an interpretive strategy to enable understanding of the full history of each site.

Among the 23 facilities inscribed by UNESCO, forced labor victims, including Koreans, occurred at seven sites, including the Hashima (Gunkanjima) coal mine, Miike coal mine, Takashima coal mine, Yahata Steel Works, and three facilities within the Mitsubishi Shipyard.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement expressing strong regret along with the summoning of the Japanese Ambassador to South Korea.

Kim In-chul, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated the previous day, "Our government strongly protests that the exhibition content at the Japan Industrial Heritage Information Center in Tokyo, which was opened to the public, has completely failed to implement the follow-up measures promised by Japan and recommended by the World Heritage Committee at the time of the inscription of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution sites as World Heritage in July 2015."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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