Jeonnam Students Witness the Horrors of Japanese Forced Labor Through Video

Samho High School Club 'Culture Works' Documentary Production
'Unfinished Return'... Focus on the Lives of Joseon Workers

Students in Jeonnam have attracted attention after producing a documentary depicting the horrors of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period.

According to the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education on the 18th, the Samho High School club 'Culture Works' produced and planned a documentary titled 'Unfinished Return' earlier this year as a project, capturing the brutal realities of forced labor under Japanese colonial rule. Selected as an outstanding team in the Youth Future Challenge Project by the Office of Education, the Samho High School club 'Culture Works' focused on the lives of Korean laborers during the Japanese occupation through overseas activities.

Samho High School club 'Culture Works' produced the documentary 'Unfinished Return,' depicting the horrors of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period. The photo shows their visit to Japan.
[Photo by Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education]

The five club members?Kim Eun-seo, Park Ui-bin, Jo Ga-in, Kim Ha-yoon, and Go Si-eun?began reading books related to forced labor and conducting research for their project. They first created maps and timelines of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period. Through their investigation, they uncovered harsh realities unknown from textbooks and decided to include the tragedies of those who never returned after forced labor in hopeless coal mines and remote islands in their documentary.

In particular, they covered the Miike coal mine in Japan, where thousands of Koreans were forced to work, and vividly captured traces of Koreans who endured painful times in the notoriously harsh Aso coal mine.

They also visited Hashima Island, known as 'Hell Island,' and reported on the forced labor sites hidden beneath its beautiful scenery. They met with officials from the Utoro village, a collective residence for Koreans mobilized to build airfields during the Japanese colonial period, and heard about the horrors of that era. In front of the memorial for the 'Ukishima Maru Incident,' where Koreans were bombed while trying to return home after liberation, they inscribed a pledge in the guestbook to "never forget this history and widely share it."

After completing filming and interviews in Japan, the students are now dedicating themselves to organizing and editing materials for the documentary 'Unfinished Return.' They plan to hold a documentary production presentation and screening in the second half of the year.

Choi Jae-won, the supervising teacher, said, “This project is significant because the students themselves planned and investigated the painful history and captured the harsh realities of forced labor sites.” He added, “The students plan to focus on delivering the message that deep reflection and remorse about the past must precede healing and reconciliation.”