The Truth of Hashima Island

The Truth of Hashima Island
At its 39th meeting held in Germany on July 5, the World Heritage Committee decided to accept Japan's application for inscribing 23 early industrial facilities as world heritage. But seven of these facilities used to be the sites of forced labor for Koreans. One of them was called by Koreans "the island of hell." It is none other than Hashima Island, where coal mines were based. At the time it was a thriving area with sophisticated apartment buildings and entertainment facilities, but in the mines located one thousand meters underground, Koreans were forced to work ten hours a day to extract coal. The average temperature in the mines surpassed 45 degrees Celsius. Many of the Korean workers died or were injured when methane gas exploded or when the mines collapsed. Regardless of what people say, this tragic history of forced labor against Koreans will never be erased. However, few Japanese know about this. The Japanese public thinks of this place only as a prime tourist destination, because the Japanese government never officially announced the fact that this place used to be a site of forced labor. We take a look at the truth behind Hashima Island.