'Human Rights Violations' Ansan Seongamhakwon Former Site Preservation Management and Utilization Service Initiated

Gyeonggi Province will begin a research project on the 20th to establish a "Preservation Management and Utilization Plan for the Seongam School Site" to protect and utilize the Seongam School historic site.

The research project will focus on studying sustainable preservation, management, and utilization methods for the Seongam School site, as well as establishing a basic plan to create a historical and cultural space to remember and commemorate the Seongam School incident.

Seongam School was a juvenile forced labor facility established in 1942 at 101-19 Seongam-ro, Danwon-gu, Ansan City, where over 4,700 boys were subjected to forced labor, beatings, and cruel treatment, violating human rights for more than 40 years until 1982.

Currently, 11 buildings remain on the approximately 90,000㎡ site, which were formerly used as children’s dormitories, staff quarters, stables, and salt warehouses. In October 2022, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended that the state and Gyeonggi Province take protective measures for the Seongam School historic site.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is paying tribute at the suspected site of the harmful burial at Seongam Academy in October 2022.

This project will be conducted by the Korea Local Autonomy Economic Research Foundation until December this year.

The main tasks of the project include ▲on-site investigation of the Seongam School site ▲feasibility review of preservation, utilization, and restoration of the site ▲gathering opinions from victims, local residents, and provincial citizens, as well as consulting experts in various fields ▲coordination with related organizations and benchmarking of best practices ▲deriving basic directions for creating a historical and cultural space for Seongam School ▲detailed plans for facilities introduction, operation, and management of the historical and cultural space ▲development of unique historical and cultural content and establishment of an independent brand specific to Gyeonggi Province ▲survey and linkage of local historical and cultural resources ▲and consideration of registration as modern cultural heritage.

Masunheung, Gyeonggi Province’s Human Rights Officer, stated, "Through this research project, we plan to establish a preservation and utilization plan before the value of the Seongam School site and buildings deteriorates further," adding, "We will create the Seongam School site as a space of peace and human rights to heal wounds caused by state violence and to commemorate the victims."

Gyeonggi Province allocated a total budget of 2.35 billion KRW this year for victim support measures related to the Seongam School incident, including 150 million KRW for the research project on the preservation, management, and utilization plan of the Seongam School site, victim support funds, medical support, and excavation of victims’ remains.

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province, which announced it will conduct excavation of victims’ remains on behalf of the state, plans to begin full-scale excavation as early as July after completing preliminary procedures such as obtaining land use consent and conducting surveys related to the Japanese colonial period.