Human Remains Found at Seongam Academy Mass Burial Site of 'Human Rights Abuses'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Just one day after excavation began at the mass burial site of Seongam Academy, where child human rights abuses were committed from the Japanese colonial period through the 1980s, remains presumed to belong to victims were discovered.

The 2nd Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Past Affairs (Truth and Reconciliation Commission) announced on the 28th that on the 27th, they found about 10 teeth and 4 buttons at the burial site on Seongam Island, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do.

Based on the characteristics of the teeth, the age of the remains is estimated to be in the teenage years. The commission explained that the buttons appear to have fallen from the victim's clothing. A commission official stated, "We plan to confirm the victim's age and time of death through the excavated teeth and other findings."

Earlier, on the 26th, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission held a ground-breaking ritual (Gaetoje) at the burial site and began a trial excavation. The excavation area corresponds to about 10% of the total estimated burial site, covering 900㎡.

This site was pointed out by many of the 190 surviving victims who applied for truth verification to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in December 2020 as the mass burial site. It is estimated that about 150 remains are buried here.

Notably, in 2016, children's bones entangled in tree roots and a small pair of rubber shoes were also discovered. Seongam Academy was a reform facility established by the Government-General of Korea in 1942 under the pretext of securing soldiers for the Pacific War. It operated until 1982. Children and adolescents were forcibly taken and isolated under the guise of rehabilitation and education for vagrants.

The residents were forced into labor and subjected to human rights violations such as violence and torture. Many died from beatings and malnutrition or lost their lives by drowning while attempting to escape from the island.

It is known that the deceased were buried by surviving children themselves. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission plans to announce the results of the truth verification next month, reflecting the trial excavation findings, and recommend a full-scale excavation to Gyeonggi-do.