Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony No mention of 'forced'...Seo Kyung-duk "Reporting to UNESCO"

Seo Kyung-duk, professor at Sungshin Women's University

When the Japanese government did not mention coercion at a memorial service held at the Sado mine in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, where Koreans in Japanese colonial era were forced to work, Sungshin Women's University Professor Seo Kyung-duk suggested that he would file a complaint with UNESCO.Professor

said on social media (SNS) on the 25th, "We will file a complaint with UNESCO about Japan's behavior of not properly informing the entire history of the Sado mine by combining investigative materials."

"I recently returned from an expedition to Sado Mine," he said. "The Aikawa Local Museum near Sado Mine also describes the harsh labor of Koreans, but there was no expression of 'forcedness' at all."

In particular, he pointed out, "The contents that disparaged Koreans were on display, such as 'the Korean people are originally dull and have extremely low functional talent' and 'the unclean habits peculiar to the Korean people do not change.'Professor

seo also criticized, "Japan promised to establish an information center to honor the victims at the time of registration of the warship," but added, "It is like being stabbed in the back again after installing the center in Tokyo, 1,000 kilometers away, not at the site, and displaying materials that deny coercion."

Yonhap News Agency

The Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony was held at the Aikawa Development Center near Sado Mine on the 24th. The South Korean government and the bereaved family decided to participate in the memorial service, but decided not to participate the day before as controversy continued, with Akiko Ikuina (vice minister level), who read the eulogy, visiting Yasukuni Shrine in the past.

At the memorial service, Ikuina said in her eulogy, "Even under the special circumstances of war, I worked in difficult labor in dangerous and harsh environments in the mine, thinking about my beloved family far from my hometown."

The memorial service was the first of its kind in July, when the Sado mine was listed as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, and Japan promised Korea to hold it annually.

Reporter Lee Yu Na from Digital News Team.