Bangildan Planning Kim Junhyung, Lawmaker of Joguk Innovation Party
"Museum Very Outdated... Only One Lunchbox Artifact"
"Korean Foreign Ministry Official Did Not Even Visit the Site"
"Hoping Not to Repeat the 2015 Hashima Island Issue"
Opposition lawmakers who visited the Sado Mine in Japan, registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, in protest stated on the 19th that “the history of Korean laborers who were forcibly mobilized and suffered at the Sado Mine was unclear or being concealed.”
A lunchbox placed in the exhibition room of the Aikawa Local Museum near Sado Mine in Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It is presumed to have been used by workers at Sado Mine. [Photo by Junhyung Kim, Office of Assemblyman Jukook Innovation Party]
The “Sado Mine Truth Protection South Korean National Assembly Members’ Delegation to Japan,” consisting of Im Mi-ae and Lee Jae-gang from the Democratic Party of Korea, Kim Jun-hyung and Lee Hae-min from the Party for National Innovation, and Jung Hye-kyung from the Progressive Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall on the same day, stating, “In the exhibition space about the forced labor of Koreans at the Sado Mine in Japan, there was only one artifact, a 'wooden lunchbox,' whose authenticity is difficult to verify.” The delegation visited Tokyo and Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture for three days starting from August 15, the 79th Liberation Day.
The delegation said, “The Aikawa Local Museum, where the forced mobilization content is exhibited, is small in scale, and the exhibition hall related to ‘workers from the Korean Peninsula’ was located in a corner on the third floor, accessible only by creaky stairs,” adding, “The site of the Korean dormitory was left unattended without any related signboards.”
The lawmakers submitted a petition on-site to the Japanese side requesting the clear acknowledgment of the truth about the forced mobilization of Koreans, relocation of the forced labor exhibition site, and disclosure of the list of forced laborers, and attempted to meet with officials from the Japanese diplomatic authorities, but the meeting did not materialize. Instead, Park Cheol-hee, the South Korean ambassador to Japan, reportedly requested that these demands be officially conveyed to the Japanese diplomatic authorities through diplomatic channels.
The delegation criticized, “The Japanese authorities are comprehensively hiding and distorting the history of forced Korean labor,” and added, “Japan’s behavior of ignoring the suffering of the victims and minimizing their sacrifices is contrary to the universal human values and justice that UNESCO pursues.”
They continued, “It is said that the Korean negotiation representative has never visited Sado Island even once. What exactly has the government negotiated?” and stated, “The Yoon Suk-yeol administration siding with Japan and only representing Japan’s position has lost the qualification to represent the Republic of Korea and seriously damages the nation’s dignity.”
They further emphasized, “The wounds and suffering caused by forced mobilization are deeply engraved in the hearts of our people. Without acknowledging that pain, it is difficult for Korea and Japan to achieve genuine reconciliation,” and urged, “We call on the Japanese authorities to make a wise decision now so that the peoples of Korea and Japan can respect each other’s cultures and take the first step toward true reconciliation.”
Kim Jun-hyung of the Party for National Innovation said in an interview with the YouTube channel ‘Kim Eo-jun’s Humility is Difficult News Factory’ on the same day, “This inevitably connects to Japan’s attempt to register Hashima Island (Gunkanjima) in 2015.”
Kim said, “When Japan attempted to register the Hashima Island facilities, three important English words ? ▲Against will ▲Forced to work ▲Victim ? were agreed to be included to persuade our country,” adding, “However, after the registration of Hashima Island, these contents were missing in the Japanese translation, and Japan was repeatedly criticized by UNESCO and accused of deceiving Korea.”
He added, “It is said that Japan is now planning to register as many as 66 modern and industrialization facilities with UNESCO,” and emphasized, “The Korean government is effectively colluding in the historical war between Korea and Japan going according to Japan’s intentions, and this reality will be tracked at the National Assembly level.”
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