The Shadow Carved on the Island of Gold: Memories of Korean Forced Labor at the Sado Mine (1940s)

The Shadow Carved on the Island of Gold: Memories of Korean Forced Labor at the Sado Mine (1940s)

The Sado Mine, located in Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, is one of the most prominent mines in Japan, known as a gold and silver producing area since the Edo period. After the Meiji era (1868-1912), the mine was modernized by Mitsubishi Limited Partnership and became an important national resource supply area. In the 1940s, during the Pacific War, the mine welcomed many workers brought in from the Korean Peninsula.

After the Sino-Japanese War, there was a serious labor shortage in Japan. To compensate for this shortage, the government proceeded to mobilize Koreans under the guise of "recruitment," "government mediation," and "conscription. In reality, Koreans were taken without their consent and placed in factories and mines throughout mainland Japan. The Sado Mine was one such example, where approximately 1,500 Korean workers were reportedly employed in the early 1940s.

They were mainly assigned to mining and transportation in the underground tunnels. The work in the mines, which were hot and humid with little oxygen, was extremely harsh, and the lack of protective equipment, long working hours, and inadequate safety management combined to cause accidents, illnesses, and deaths due to overwork. Compensation for work was also at a low level, far below that of the Japanese, and sometimes even unpaid. Surveillance was set up to prevent escape, and sometimes violent control was used. The work was practically forced labor.

After the war, the reality of Korean labor in the Sado Mine was gradually revealed through testimonies and documents. In Korea, the mine is remembered as a symbol of Japanese colonial rule and forced labor, and testimonies by former conscripts and their bereaved families continue to this day. The Japanese government, on the other hand, has taken the position that "conscription was a system based on Japanese law at the time and was not a violation of international law.

In 2022, the issue once again attracted international attention when the Sado Mine was nominated as a candidate for UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage list. In the nomination document, the phrase "forced labor" was avoided and "information regarding the existence of wartime workers is carefully conveyed," but this led to strong opposition on the part of South Korea, and the friction over historical recognition between Japan and South Korea once again became apparent.

Korean labor at the Sado Mine, which involved poor conditions and human rights violations, is one of the focal points of the issue of historical recognition between Japan and South Korea. Even today, there are ongoing debates over the nature of investigation, memory, education, and compensation. In particular, international perspectives on the World Heritage registration have highlighted the conflict between "passing on the memory" of history and "political considerations.

The memory inscribed in this mine is not merely a record of labor. It is an accumulation of suppressed lives and unspoken voices, and it raises the question of how we should face the past. We must have the courage to face the shadow hidden on the golden island.