South Korea has shown strong discomfort about Japan’s failure to acknowledge Korean forced labor on Hashima Island. South Korea accused Japan for breaking its pledge to fully acknowledge and memorialize suffering in brutal working condition. This issue highlights ongoing tension…
New TV series ‘The Narrow Road to Deep North” portrays harrowing journey of Allied prisoner of war on Burma-Thailand railway. The series adapted Richard Flanagan’s novel about his time as Australian army doctor that are rich in portraying wartime horrors…
Thailand hold a memorial to commemorated Southeast Asian forced laborers that died when building the “Death Railway”. With many British prisoners of war being forced into labor, a new exhibition in U.K. honors these soldiers that endured brutal conditions “Death…
Japan posted Sado Mine for UNESCO World Heritage without clearly apologizing or labeling Koreans as “forced laborers”. This action caused rising diplomatic tensions with South Korea on historical reconciliation with South Korea boycotting Japan’s first memorial event for victims. Yonhap…
Japan’s Gunma Prefecture has removed Korean forced labor memorial due to criticism over alleged political use. People argue that this decision can set a dangerous precedent for erasing painful historical truth and being a signal as a retreat from reconciliation…
South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered Japanese corporation to directly compensate Korean forced labor victims, while Japan formally protested. President Yoon stated it will use domestic third-party funds to facilitate reparation as a part of restoring relations with Japan. Hankyoreh Article:…
The Mainichi: S. Korea foreign minister meets Japan wartime labor plaintiffs The Korea Herald: Foreign Minister to meet with victims of Japan’s forced labor The Korea Times: Foreign minister vows diplomatic solution to forced labor dispute with Japan
Kyodo News: Japan to seek listing of Sado mine site as world heritage The Korea Herald (Derived from Yonhap News): S. Korea voices ‘strong regret’ over Japan’s Sado mine heritage push ABC (Derived from Associated Press): Japan to push controversial…
The Asahi Shimbun: Seoul blasts bid for Sado gold mine to go on heritage list The Japan News (By the Yomiuri Shimbun): Controversial Sado mine proposed for UNESCO nod The Korea Times: Brazen-faced move (Opinion Piece) Korea JoongAng Daily: Another…
Forced Labor: The Japan Times: South Korean leader says Seoul ‘always ready to sit down’ with Tokyo Dong-A Ilbo: “Japanese media: Moon’s speech lacks concrete proposals for bilateral cooperation” Asahi Shimbun: “Moon: South Korea, Japan must look to future to…
The Korea Herald: “A Japanese diplomat arrived in Seoul on Wednesday for talks with his South Korean counterparts amid a prolonged row between the two countries over Tokyo’s wartime forced labor and export curbs.” The Korea Herald: “The Ministry of…
Over the summer, there have been several developments on historical issues affecting South Korea-Japan relations. From Japanese UNESCO sites to wartime workers, here are a selection of stories providing an overview of recent changes. Chosunilbo: “Cheong Wa Dae is bristling…