Tokyo: South Korea held a memorial ceremony in Japan on Friday to honor Koreans forced into labor at a gold and silver mine complex during World War II, marking the second consecutive year it has conducted its own event separate from Japan's official ceremony.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Seoul chose not to participate in this year's memorial hosted by Japan due to unresolved differences between the two countries on how to commemorate the Korean workers' suffering and acknowledge the forced labor's nature. The South Korean Embassy in Tokyo organized Friday's memorial at a hotel on Sado Island in the Niigata Prefecture, with 11 family members of the victims attending.
South Korean Ambassador to Japan Lee Hyuk paid tribute to the workers, acknowledging their pain and suffering, and offered solace to their bereaved families. Lee remarked on the historical context, stating that over 80 years ago, numerous Korean workers were forcibly brought to Sado Island by recruitment or conscription, under the Japanese governor-general of Korea's oversight, to work under challenging conditions.
Lee further emphasized the importance of reflecting on past pain and engaging in acts of remembrance to foster empathy and healing. Japan has committed to hosting the annual memorial event following the Sado mines' designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2024.
South Korea also boycotted the Japan-hosted event last year, citing Japan's perceived insincerity in honoring the victims, including its refusal to acknowledge their sufferings and the coercive nature of forced labor in the memorial speech. Historically, the Sado mines, renowned as a gold mining site from the 17th to the 19th centuries, were repurposed to produce war supplies for the Japanese imperial army during World War II. Reports indicate that over 1,500 Koreans were forced into labor at the mines from 1940 to 1945, while Korea was under Japan's colonial rule.