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The Aikawa Museum of History and Folklore near the Sado Mine in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, unveiled a new exhibition space featuring displays related to Korean laborers on July 28, 2024. Panels explaining the involvement of the Government-General of Korea in recruiting and placing laborers were installed in a small exhibition room. The photo shows a panel indicating that Koreans were subjected to harsher labor conditions compared to their Japanese counterparts. / Yonhap

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has officially recommended that the Japanese government fully reflect the history of forced Korean labor at the Sado Island Gold Mines, as promised during its inscription as a World Heritage site.

In a draft decision circulated to member states on July 15, the committee stated that it made the recommendation after evaluating the state of conservation report submitted by Japan on the Sado Mines.

The Sado Mines is a site where Korean laborers were forcibly mobilized during the Japanese colonial period. Japan had submitted applications for the Sado Mines' World Heritage status in February 2022 and January 2023.

According to the draft decision, the committee assessed that while Japan has made some progress in implementing its recommendation to develop an interpretive and exhibition strategy reflecting the full history of the Sado Mines, it remains insufficient. It recommended that Japan comprehensively address the site's full history across all periods of mine operation and consult closely with relevant parties to improve the interpretive and exhibition strategies and facilities.

The committee requested that Japan submit an implementation report on these recommendations by December 1, 2027. The report is scheduled to be reviewed at the 50th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2028.

This recommendation is seen as lending weight to the South Korean government's position that Japan has failed to fully implement the promises it made during the process of registering the Sado Mines as a World Heritage site.

"We believe our consistent position has been reflected given that Japan's implementation of the recommendations remains insufficient," a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said. "We will continue our efforts to ensure that Japan faithfully fulfills the committee's decisions and the promises made at the time of inscription."

The draft decision will be discussed at the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee, to be held in Busan from July 20 to 23, and is expected to be adopted by consensus if there are no objections among member states.

                                                                                                              Lee Han-sol