Jeollanam-do to Strengthen Preservation and Utilization System for Japanese Colonial Period Relics on 80th Anniversary of Liberation

Survey of 600 Sites Completed in the Region
Additional Research Planned for Uninvestigated Relics
Utilization for Education and Tourism, Including Dark Tourism

Interior view of the old Mokpobu Office air-raid shelter, part of the relics from the Japanese colonial period. Provided by Jeonnam Province

Jeollanam-do announced plans to strengthen the preservation and utilization system for relics from the Japanese colonial period in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Liberation.

The province has continuously implemented policies to systematically discover and preserve various military, residential, and administrative facilities that were established during the Japanese colonial period for forced mobilization and wartime operations.

In 2018, Jeollanam-do established an institutional foundation by enacting the "Ordinance on the Excavation and Management of Japanese Colonial Period Relics in Jeollanam-do," and in 2020, organized the status of 600 relic sites through a research project.

Among these, 85 sites were related to military operations, 310 to forced mobilization, 68 to administrative facilities, and 137 to daily life and culture. Currently, 76 of these have been registered as national cultural heritage assets.

Representative examples include aircraft hangars, air-raid shelters, and anti-aircraft artillery batteries in the Mangun-myeon and Hyeongyeong-myeon areas of Muan. The old Mokpobu Office archive and air-raid shelter, as well as the Yeosu Marae No. 2 Tunnel, have been registered and are being preserved and managed as national cultural heritage assets.

Based on the results of these investigations, since 2021, Jeollanam-do has installed information boards and conducted basic management at Japanese colonial period sites in eight cities and counties, including Mokpo, Yeosu, and Muan. The province has also accumulated historical education resources by recording the testimonies of forced mobilization victims through oral history projects.

Recently, following media reports confirming the existence of previously uninvestigated Japanese military positions and underground facilities along the southwestern coast, Jeollanam-do plans to conduct additional academic research to reassess the historical and academic value of these relics and to develop more concrete plans for their utilization.

In particular, the province is considering ways to utilize these relics not only for simple preservation, but also as resources for dark tourism, historical education sites, exhibitions, and memorial halls, thereby contributing to education for future generations and serving as regional tourism assets.

Kang Hyoseok, Director of the Culture & Prosperity Bureau of Jeollanam-do, stated, "As the saying goes, 'A nation that forgets its history has no future.' It is most important to thoroughly document and preserve our painful past to instill a correct understanding of history among residents and future generations. We will continue to strengthen academic research and institutional measures to systematically manage the heritage of the Japanese colonial period."

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