<W Commentary> Sado Gold Mine, which aims to be registered as a World Heritage Site in 2024, South Korea opposes the resubmission of the nomination form = What has happened so far?
On the 19th (Japan time), the Japanese government issued a recommendation letter from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which pointed out inadequacies, for the Gold Mine on Sado Island (Sado City, Niigata Prefecture), which is aiming to be registered as a World Heritage Site. Corrected and resubmitted. Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Keiko Nagaoka made the announcement at a press conference after the cabinet meeting on the 20th. If the procedures go smoothly, the registration will be reviewed by the World Heritage Committee around the summer of 2024. However, in response to the resubmission, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (equivalent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) summoned the Minister of the Japanese Embassy in South Korea on the same day to lodge a protest. A spokesperson also issued a commentary saying, "We express regret."

The "Sado Island Gold Mine" consists of two mining ruins, the "Aikawa Tsuruko Gold and Silver Mine" and the "Nishi Mikawa Gold Mine". Niigata Prefecture and others are aiming to register the mine as a World Cultural Heritage site, stating, "It is a rare mine in the world that developed a large-scale gold production system in the Edo period using traditional handicrafts that differed from those in Europe."

It is said that at least 1,000 workers from the Korean Peninsula were mobilized to Sado Gold Mine during the war to make up for the labor shortage. For this reason, South Korea claims that workers from the former Korean Peninsula were forced to work, and from this historical background, South Korea opposes aiming for the registration of the "Golden Mine on Sado Island" as a World Heritage Site. The South Korean government has also set up a joint public-private task force to respond to Japan's move to have the Gold Mine on Sado Island registered as a World Heritage Site.

South Korea also showed strong opposition to the registration of the Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution, which was registered as a World Heritage Site in 2015. Many workers from the Korean Peninsula worked at the Hashima Coal Mine (Battleship Island) in Nagasaki City, which is included in the 'Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution'. For this reason, the South Korean side requested that the Japanese side provide an explanation so that the people from the Korean Peninsula could understand the situation at the time when the site was registered as a World Heritage Site. In 2020, Japan opened the 'Industrial Heritage Information Center' in Tokyo in response to this request. However, the South Korean side intensified criticism, saying, "(The center's) exhibition does not clearly explain the damage suffered by people from the Korean Peninsula who were forced to work, and the promise made at the time of registration was not kept."

In response to this, UNESCO adopted a draft resolution stating that the Japanese government's explanation of the wartime draftees from the Korean Peninsula was inadequate. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee asked the Japanese side to make improvements with the center's exhibition in mind, and asked them to report on their progress. In response, the Japanese government submitted a conservation status report to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee by last month.

The South Korean side has viewed it as a problem that the Sado Gold Mine, which also has a history of workers from the Korean Peninsula, aiming to be registered as a World Heritage Site, while the issue of 'Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution Sites' has not been resolved.

However, in February last year, the Japanese government formally decided to recommend the gold mines of Sado Island to UNESCO as a candidate for World Cultural Heritage. Expectations were high for this year's registration, but UNESCO pointed out the inadequacies in the nominations submitted. In July last year, the government announced that it had become difficult to achieve its goal of 2023 registration. UNESCO raised a problem with the description of the traces of the water conduit of the Nishimikawa Gold Mine, and in September last year, the Japanese government submitted a provisional recommendation letter with the revised parts pointed out. Preparations have been made for resubmitting the nomination, including coordinating the content of the document with UNESCO.

Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Nagaoka revealed that he submitted a nomination form to the UNESCO World Heritage Secretariat on the 19th (Japan time). "We will continue to work with Niigata Prefecture, Sado City, and relevant ministries and agencies to ensure that the gold mine on Sado Island is recognized as a cultural heritage site, and we will do our utmost to achieve registration as a World Heritage Site" he said.

On the other hand, on the 20th, the Korean Government-affiliated Support Foundation for Victims of Japanese Forced Mobilization issued a statement strongly opposed to the resubmission of the nomination and demanded its prompt withdrawal. The foundation criticized Japan for registering the Gold Mine on Sado Island as a World Heritage Site without mentioning its entire history, including forced labor since modern times.

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs also summoned Daisuke Namioka, Minister of the Japanese Embassy in South Korea, to lodge a protest. The spokesperson also issued a commentary, emphasizing that "We will continue to work together with UNESCO and the international community so that the history, including the pain of forced labor, is reflected in the heritage registration." He also referred to the "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution," and once again criticized the Japanese government's measures to explain its history even after it was registered as a World Cultural Heritage Site, saying that it had not been "faithfully implemented."
2023/01/23 12:47 KST