Story perspectives

South Korea Demands Japan Acknowledge Wartime Labor at UNESCO Site

12/17/2025

Summary

Story summary

South Korea's foreign ministry urged Japan to fulfill its commitment to accurately represent the Sado gold and silver mine's wartime history, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The appeal followed Japan's conservation report, which South Korea criticized for not addressing the coercive labor mobilization.
South Korea has boycotted Japan-hosted memorials and held its own ceremonies near the site, where over 1,500 Koreans were forced to work during World War II.

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Story summary

South Korea's foreign ministry urged Japan to fulfill its commitment to accurately represent the Sado gold and silver mine's wartime history, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The appeal followed Japan's conservation report, which South Korea criticized for not addressing the coercive labor mobilization.
South Korea has boycotted Japan-hosted memorials and held its own ceremonies near the site, where over 1,500 Koreans were forced to work during World War II.