[2020 National Audit] Persistent Historical Distortion of Japan's Gunhamdo "Government Response Lukewarm"

"World Heritage Center Urges Letter Secrecy... Only 6 Foreign Media Activities"
"Active Response Needed for Next Month's World Heritage Committee"

'Gunkanjima' taken by Japanese photographer Hayashi Eidaiga. Photo by National Archives of Korea

Criticism has been raised that the South Korean government is showing a lukewarm attitude toward Japan's distortion of the history of Gunkanjima.

On the 12th, Park Jung, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, stated at the Cultural Heritage Administration's audit, "There were only six foreign media activities this year to expose the unfairness. Of these, three were contributions to Korea.net," adding, "The response was limited to formal measures such as holding one academic conference and one international forum."

Jung Jae-sook, the head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, sent a letter of appeal to the World Heritage Center last April. She requested a review of whether Japan interprets history according to the recommendations and stated that if Japan fails to comply, its World Heritage registration should be canceled. However, this claim was not made public due to diplomatic reasons.

Japan continues to distort the history of Gunkanjima. A representative example is the video released to the public in June by the Industrial Heritage Information Center, which features testimonies claiming that Korean laborers were properly paid without discrimination. Park said, "This completely violates the recommendations made by the World Heritage Committee when registering the Gunkanjima coal mine and others as World Heritage sites in July 2015."

The World Heritage Committee will review Japan's implementation report submitted last December next month. Related inter-agency meetings have been held only four times this year. Park emphasized, "Active measures are required to prepare for the World Heritage Committee, including persuading member countries."

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