Gwangju City Councilor Park Sugi Urges Preservation Plan for Gwangju War Facility Ruins from Japanese Colonial Period

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Park Sugi, a member of the Gwangju Metropolitan Council, urged a preservation plan for war facility relics from the Japanese colonial period in the Gwangju area.

On the 1st, through a 5-minute speech at the 312th extraordinary session of the Gwangju City Council, Councilor Park highlighted the need for excavation and preservation of recently discovered war facility relics from the Japanese colonial period and demanded active response from Gwangju City.

Shin Jubaek, former director of the Independence Movement History Research Institute at the Independence Hall, mentioned on the 28th of last month, at a historical lecture titled "Japan and Sangmu Airfield," the underground caves around the 505 Security Unit site in Ssangchon-dong 5·18 Memorial Park and the Student Independence Movement Memorial Hall area in Hwajeong-dong, which were recently discovered.

These sites are part of war facilities related to the Gwangju Airfield, which emerged as a new strategic base in Gwangju in the 1940s under the so-called "Mainland Decisive Battle Strategy" during the Japanese colonial period. They serve as evidence of the material and human exploitation carried out by Japan, forcibly mobilizing Koreans to build these facilities.

It is understood that not only civilians but also students from Gwangju Agricultural School and Gwangju Seojung Middle School were massively mobilized for the airfield construction at that time.

The war facilities related to the airfield scattered around Hwajeong-dong and Ssangchon-dong are known to have more underground structures compared to other regions.

Councilor Park proposed ▲ the need for comprehensive academic investigations following the achievements made through sporadic excavation efforts by civilians ▲ even military facility relics should be academically verified and developed and preserved in a modern way to be utilized as dark tourism sites (historical experience travel that learns lessons by visiting tragic sites) ▲ for areas difficult to use immediately due to private ownership, at least installing guide signs to prevent further damage.

He also urged the Gwangju City executive branch to show interest and will to support systematic excavation, preservation, management, and comprehensive surveys of military facility relics from the Japanese colonial period by enacting or revising related ordinances if necessary for designation as registered cultural heritage.

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