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Korea holds own Sado mine memorial ceremony for second year

Published: 21 Nov. 2025, 14:58

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 at a hotel on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, on Nov. 21. [YONHAP]

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 not to attend this year's memorial hosted by Japan after the neighboring countries could not come to an agreement on ways to reflect Korean workers' suffering 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 Niigata Prefecture, joined by 11 family members of victims.

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.

"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 pledged to hold the memorial event annually when the Sado mines were inscribed as a Unesco World Heritage site in July 2024.

Seoul boycotted the event hosted by Tokyo last year, citing a lack of sincerity in honoring the victims, including an apparent rejection of an appropriate reflection of the workers' suffering 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 to 1945, when Korea was under Japan's colonial rule.

Japan held its own Sado memorial ceremony in September.

Yonhap