Accumulating Issues Drive Korea-Japan Relations to Extremes... Conflict Over 'Historical Distortion' Extends to World Heritage

Forced Labor under Japanese Occupation, Export Restrictions, GSOMIA and Other Pressing Issues... Ongoing Japanese Historical Distortion
Government Urges Japan to Fulfill World Heritage Commitments with Resolution and Cooperation Letter for Delisting

The so-called Battleship Island, the former Hashima Coal Mine, located off the coast of Nagasaki (Photo by Wikipedia)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Korea-Japan relations are becoming increasingly strained. Following the South Korean Supreme Court ruling on forced labor during Japanese colonial rule, Japan's unilateral export restrictions, South Korea's World Trade Organization (WTO) complaint, the termination of the Korea-Japan General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), the issue has escalated further with the emergence of historical distortion related to Japan's modern industrial sites registered as World Cultural Heritage. The situation appears to be heading toward an extreme. Although working-level consultations between government officials continue, only differences in positions have been confirmed, making progress difficult to expect.

After about a month, working-level talks were held but, as expected, they ran parallel without convergence. On the 24th, Kim Jeong-han, Director-General of the Asia-Pacific Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held a video conference with Takizaki Shigeki, Director-General of the Asia-Oceania Bureau at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and expressed strong regret regarding Japan's failure to fulfill the promise made at the time of promoting the registration of modern industrial sites such as Hashima Island (Gunkanjima) from the Meiji era, to jointly exhibit the facts of forced labor. He urged Japan to implement this. Japan repeated its existing stance.

Amid numerous unresolved issues, another problem related to Japan's modern industrial sites' registration as World Cultural Heritage has been added. Relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, have taken strong measures such as sending letters under the ministers' names to UNESCO. Minister Kang Kyung-wha requested UNESCO's cooperation to adopt a resolution urging Japan to take follow-up measures, including the possibility of canceling the registration of Japan's modern industrial sites where forced labor of Koreans occurred.

On the other hand, Japan continues to repeat its position that it is faithfully fulfilling its promises. On the 24th, during a press conference on the day of the Korea-Japan diplomatic directors' meeting, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga stated, "Our country has seriously accepted the resolutions and recommendations made by the World Heritage Committee and has faithfully implemented the promised measures, and there is no change in our position to respond appropriately."

After the South Korean government officially expressed concerns, UNESCO announced that it plans to discuss Japan's fulfillment of its promises as a formal agenda item. UNESCO reportedly considers South Korea's concerns important and has informed the South Korean government that it has conveyed them to the advisory body of the World Heritage Committee.

◆Key Issues Surrounding the Registration of Japan's Modern Industrial Sites as World Cultural Heritage

The dispute over the Industrial Heritage Information Center, which Japan began opening to the public on the 15th, stems from the Japanese government's failure to fulfill its initial promises to the international community.

At the 39th World Heritage Committee in July 2015, when the registration of 23 modern industrial sites including Hashima Island was decided, then Japanese Ambassador to UNESCO Sato Kuni pledged to faithfully implement the recommendations by taking measures to help understand that many Koreans and others were mobilized against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions at some facilities in the 1940s, and to include appropriate measures to honor the victims, such as establishing an information center, in the interpretation strategy.

He stated, "Japan is prepared to take measures to help understand that many Koreans and others were mobilized against their will and forced to work at some facilities in the 1940s," and "the Japanese government also implemented conscription policies during World War II."

Japan's stance began to change starting with the 2017 implementation report submitted to the World Heritage Committee. The phrase "mobilized against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions" was changed to "people from the Korean Peninsula supported Japan's industry," and the commitment to include appropriate measures to honor the victims was downgraded to a plan to establish an information center in Tokyo as a think tank contributing to the dissemination and understanding of industrial heritage preservation.

Japan continued to ignore the World Heritage Committee's demands. The Committee, through its decisions, required faithful implementation of the 2015 Japanese representative's statements, encouraged continuous dialogue with relevant parties, and strongly urged consideration of various international best practices in overall historical interpretation. However, Japan excluded South Korea, a concerned party, from dialogue and did not include the promised follow-up measures in its 2019 implementation report.

◆Possibility of Cancellation of Japan's Modern Industrial Sites' World Heritage Registration... South Korea Builds International Opinion

The South Korean government has urged the fulfillment of promises made between the parties at the time of registration in 2015 and requested the cooperation of the World Heritage Committee to cancel the World Cultural Heritage designation. This marks a strong response.

The problem is that since UNESCO began operating the World Cultural Heritage system in 1972, there have been only two cases of designation cancellation. So far, Oman’s "Oryx Sanctuary" and Germany’s Dresden "Elbe Valley" have had their designations canceled due to the construction of oil fields and bridges in those areas, which caused significant physical damage to their value. South Korea has never requested cancellation of registration in a third country on the grounds of "historical distortion." Therefore, some predict that actual cancellation will not be easy.

South Korea plans to focus first on actively informing the international community about Japan's failure to fulfill its promises. On the 25th (local time), Kim Dong-gi, South Korea's Ambassador to UNESCO, held a press briefing at the embassy residence in Paris, France, and announced plans to actively inform the 21 member countries of the World Heritage Committee about Japan's stance. The World Heritage Committee includes Australia, Norway, Russia, Spain, and Thailand as member countries. Neither South Korea nor Japan is a member country.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.