South Korean Groups Push UNESCO to Preserve Comfort-Women Records Amid Ongoing Japan-Korea Tensions

A coalition of South Korean citizens’ groups held a press conference in Seoul to ask UNESCO to list documents about wartime “comfort women” on its Memory of the World Register. The appeal follows a Korean Supreme Court decision on August 12 that dismissed an appeal by Japan’s Nippon Steel against a lower-court ruling ordering the company to pay 80 million Korean won (? US $59,528) to the family of Min Moon-sik for forced labour in 1942. The previous month, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee in Busan adopted a resolution urging Japan to present the “whole history” of forced labourers, including more than 1,500 Koreans who worked at a mine on Sado Island.

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During World War II, the Imperial Japanese military forced women from Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia and other occupied territories into brothels for Japanese soldiers. The practice has been a persistent source of diplomatic friction between Japan and its neighbours. In Singapore, Japanese forces occupied the city-state in February 1942, renaming it “Shonan-to,” and abducted young women who were trafficked as “comfort women.”

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• 80 million Korean won – compensation ordered for forced-labour victim Min Moon-sik.

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• More than 1,500 Koreans – forced-labourers cited in UNESCO’s resolution concerning the Sado Island mine.

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• 55,000 ethnic Chinese – killed during the Japanese occupation of Singapore.

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• The Korean Supreme Court’s August 12 ruling rejected Nippon Steel’s appeal, upholding the compensation judgment.

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• UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, meeting in Busan, issued a resolution calling on Japan to disclose the full history of forced labourers, including the Korean victims at the Sado mine.

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• The Japanese government has publicly denied that the wartime “comfort women” system was a state-sponsored program of rape camps, maintaining that the issue does not involve official Japanese policy.

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Japanese officials’ denial stands in direct opposition to the demands of South Korean citizen groups and regional advocates who argue that acknowledgment and preservation of survivor testimonies are essential for historical justice. The UNESCO request reflects broader criticism that Japan has not fully confronted its wartime sexual-slavery legacy, a stance that continues to strain bilateral relations.

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The push for UNESCO’s Memory of the World listing seeks to safeguard survivor testimonies and related documents, potentially creating an internationally recognized archive that could influence public memory, educational curricula, and diplomatic negotiations. Preservation of these records may also provide a foundation for legal and reparative actions by victims and their descendants.

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No source provides a definitive count of all “comfort women” across the occupied territories, and estimates vary widely. While UNESCO’s resolution urges Japan to present a comprehensive history, the Japanese government’s denial creates a gap between international expectations and national acknowledgment.

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UNESCO has not announced a timeline for the Memory of the World registration decision. Further diplomatic engagement between Japan, South Korea and other affected nations is anticipated as both sides navigate the historical dispute and related legal claims.

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