This is an underground shaft at the Aikawa Gold and Silver Mine on Sado Island in Japan's Niigata Prefecture. (Yonhap News)

By Uyen Nguyen

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) has urged Japan to more faithfully reflect the "whole history" of gold mines on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, especially the use of forced laborers from Korea there from 1940-45.

In a draft decision circulated to member states on July 15 ahead of its annual session in Busan, the committee said its evaluation of the conservation report on the site found that the interpretation and exhibition content at the Aikawa History Museum, which has an exhibition on Sado, inadequately cover the mines' entire history throughout their operational period.

This screenshot of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee's draft decision on the Sado gold mines in Japan recommends a more faithful reflection on the site's "whole history." (UNESCO World Heritage's website)

While acknowledging that the museum has information on workers from the Korean Peninsula, the committee recommended continued consultations with relevant parties to ensure full reflection of the site's full history.

The mines on the island were major sources of gold during Japan's Edo period (1603-1867) and later used to secure wartime resources during the Pacific theater (1941-45) of World War II. During Japanese colonial rule of the peninsula, 1,519 Koreans from 1940-45 are known to have been forced to work at the site under brutal conditions.

In 2024, the Sado mines were designated a World Heritage Site at the committee's session. At the time, Japan pledged to implement UNESCO's recommendation to develop an interpretation and exhibition strategy to reflect the full history of the site as well as related facilities, but has yet to do so.

uyen81@korea.kr