NHK broadcasted news that ICOMOS, the advisory body of the World Heritage Convention of UNESCO, recommended 23 Japanese industries in Meiji Japan as world heritages on May 4th. Japan has applied to list a package of 23 coal mines, shipyards and other industries in Kyushu and Yamaguchi as UNESCO world heritage sites in 2014, and at least seven of those industries are places where forced labor was imposed on Koreans. The representative example is Hashima Island. It is an island lying about 15 kilometers from the city of Nagasaki in southern Japan. During the Pacific War, most Koreans worked as slaves in coal mines and more than 100 Koreans died because of the extreme labor environment. Also, Japan forced Koreans to make warships for Mitsubishi dockyard in Nagasaki.
  The Japanese government limited their historical background to only Meiji Japan (1868-1912), but, in fact, Japan colonized Korea from 1910 to 1945, and they omitted the other more recent backgrounds to hide their mistakes. To hide their past, they made preparations for three years, and, at the beginning of 2015, Abe dispatched his closest aides to UNESCO as ambassadors. As a result, in March, ICOMOS recommended those heritages from Meiji Japan as world heritages. At first, Japan seemed to be careful about neighboring countries, but recently, there are reports that 23 industries are already being regarded as heritage sites, coming out one after another in Japanese media.
  In the Daejonilbo interview with Lee Sang-gun, who works for the Culture Assets International Return Agency, he said, “World heritages should have conservation and succession in the aspect of continuity. However, Abe has tried to list their heritage sites from a particular period. This is contrary to universal values, which are basic requirements for listing heritages, so the 23 industrial heritages should not be tolerated.”
  A student, Han Sae-young(’14, Dept. of Philosophy) said, “If they acknowledged their mistakes and applied to UNESCO world heritage sites, it would be accepted as a result that they reflected their incorrect militarism. However, ignoring their history of aggression is to ridicule Korea and the entire Korean history.”
  Meanwhile, Auschwitz, Germany is arousing people’s interest in comparison with Japan. Auschwitz was established to imprison Polish prisoners and Soviet prisoners in Poland at the time of Nazi occupation. However, Jewish people and gypsies were deported to Auschwitz and forced labor was imposed on them. Finally, it was used as a mass execution site. The Auschwitz concentration camp was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1972 so as not to forget the cruelty of the Nazis and to convey the danger of the ideology of posterity. According to the UNESCO website, “The Auschwitz concentration camp is obvious evidence of Jewish genocide and serious crimes against human beings. However, Auschwitz also shows us the greatness of the human spirit against Nazism.”
  Korea and Japan will have a conference related to the 23 industries from the Japanese colonial period. According to a press briefing, “We are discussing it and are going to clarify Japan’s intention to politicize the application. Even if consultations cannot reap fruits, we can show Japan’s intransigent attitude to UNESCO. Also, we will continue to watch Japan’s application.”

By Go So-young
sy35@cbnu.ac.kr