History and Geopolitics in South Korea–Japan Relations: The Sado Mine Issue

But South Koreans largely remain silent on the role of the Korean ‘collaborators’ in assisting the Japanese colonial administration and the contribution of Japan in modernising the Korean Peninsula.3 On the other hand, Tokyo also carefully hides the brutalities committed on the colonised people during the building of its so-called ‘Greater East Asia Co- prosperity Sphere’. [...] While Japan acknowledged the mistreatment of the Korean mineworkers employed in the Sado mine during the colonial period, South Korean government also supported the designation of this mine as the World Heritage Site.4 1 Chris Deacon, “(Re)producing the ‘History Problem’: Memory, Identity and the Japan-South Korea Trade Dispute”, The Pacific Review, Vol. [...] However, there are also apprehensions in South Korea over the seriousness of Japan regarding its acceptance of the mistreatment of Korean workers in Sado mine during the colonial period.10 The speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea has even asked the government for the release of all documents related to the Sado mine’s World Heritage Site listing.11 But despite strong criticism from the. [...] The recent cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo on historical issues is largely due to the convergence of strategic interests, and similarities in the security and economic challenges they both are currently facing.20 Therefore, the recent success in the enlisting of the historical Sado mine as the UNESCO World Heritage Site also signifies the changing geopolitical situation in the region. [...] The tenure of the two previous administrations in South Korea saw deterioration in the bilateral ties between Seoul and Tokyo, largely due to the contentious aspects of the Japanese colonial regime in the Korean Peninsula.