This undated file photo shows a mine shaft built after the Meiji era in the Aikawa gold and silver mines in the Sado mine complex on the island of Sado in Japan. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jul. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Japan’s former gold mine, associated with South Korea’s wartime forced labor, is expected to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site over the weekend, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Friday.
Seoul has protested Tokyo’s push to enlist its gold and silver mine complex on Sado Island, arguing that Japan initially intended to omit the part of its history involving thousands of Koreans who were forced to toil during World War II, when Korea was under Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC), which consists of representatives from 21 member states, is scheduled to review and decide on 28 new listing proposals, including the Sado mine, at its meeting in New Delhi, India, on Saturday.
“Unless something extraordinary happens within the next 24 hours, it is likely that the Sado mine will be listed as a World Heritage Site without a voting showdown between Japan and South Korea,” a foreign ministry official said on the condition of anonymity.
Both Japan and South Korea are members of the rotating committee this year. While a two-thirds majority of the UNESCO WHC’s entire member states is required for a site to be listed, decisions are typically made by consensus.
Earlier this month, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, an advisory body to the UNESCO WHC, recommended referring the nomination of the Sado mine back to Japan, calling for a more comprehensive explanation of its entire history.
In its original submission, Japan limited the mine’s timeline specifically to the Edo period (1603-1868), excluding the modern history during which war atrocities were committed.
Following negotiations between the two countries, South Korea’s foreign ministry said that Japan has promised to reflect the complete history of the controversial mine.
(Yonhap)
