South Korean Ambassador to Japan Lee Hyuk delivers a tribute at a memorial ceremony honoring Korean workers forced to labor at Japan’s Sado mines during World War II, held at a hotel on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, on Nov. 21, 2025. (Yonhap)
SADO ISLAND, Japan/SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea held a memorial ceremony in Japan on Friday to honor Koreans forced into labor at a gold and silver mine complex during World War II, the second year it has held its own event apart from Japan’s official ceremony.
Seoul decided to not attend this year’s memorial hosted by Japan after the two neighboring countries could not come to an agreement on ways to reflect Korean workers’ sufferings and the nature of forced labor.
Friday’s memorial, led by the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo, took place at a hotel on Sado Island in the Niigata Prefecture, joined by 11 family members of the victims.
South Korean Ambassador to Japan Lee Hyuk delivered a tribute in remembrance of the pain and suffering endured by the workers, and offered comfort to their bereaved families.
South Korean Ambassador to Japan Park Cheol-hee (C) pays tribute to the victims of Japan’s wartime forced labor from the Sado mine complex during World War II, on Sado Island, off Japan’s west coast, on Nov. 25, 2024. Seoul officials and the family members held a separate memorial ceremony to honor the victims after boycotting a Japan-hosted event over what South Korea called “disagreements” on the issues related to the event that were unable to be resolved with Japan. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
“More than 80 years ago, many Korean workers were brought here to Sado Island against their will through recruitment or conscription under the involvement of the Japanese governor-general of Korea and were forced to toil under harsh conditions,” Lee said.
“Reflecting on the pain of the past and sharing this act of remembrance will deepen our sense of empathy and healing,” he said.
Japan has pledged to hold the memorial event annually when the Sado mines were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2024.
South Korea boycotted the event hosted by Japan last year, citing Japan’s lack of sincerity in honoring the victims, including its apparent rejection to reflect their sufferings and the coercive nature of forced labor in the memorial speech.
The Sado mines, once famous as a gold mine between the 17th and 19th centuries, were mainly used to produce war supplies for the Japanese imperial army during World War II. More than 1,500 Koreans are reported to have been forced into labor at the mines from 1940-45, when Korea was under Japan’s colonial rule.
Japan held its own Sado memorial ceremony in September.
This file photo, taken Nov. 25, 2024, shows the bereaved family members of Korean victims of Japan’s wartime forced labor at the Sado mine complex during World War II exploring the interior of the Sado gold and silver mines on Sado Island, off Japan’s west coast. Earlier in the day, they held a memorial ceremony for the victims and boycotted a Japan-hosted event, citing Tokyo’s apparent insincerity in fulfilling its pledge to remember the victims. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
(Yonhap)
