Historical issues have a deep impact on the relationship between South Korea and Japan. However, the recent cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo with regards to the colonial history (1910–1945) reflects the improvement in the bilateral relations between these two ‘middle power’ countries. It also signifies the geopolitical shift in the East Asian region.
South Korea–Japan relations have been deeply troubled by the ‘history problem’.1 The colonisation of the Korean Peninsula by imperial Japan (1910–1945) still evokes strong resentment among the Korean people. It is argued that the Japanese colonial administration in the Korean Peninsula not only exploited the Korean people, but also tried to completely erase their national identity, history and culture. From the South Korean perspective, tens of thousands of Korean men were used as ‘forced labour’ in industries and mines, and a large number of Korean women were sexually exploited as ‘comfort women’ by the Japanese colonial regime. The interpretation of the colonial history in the school textbooks in Japan, and the visits to the Yasukuni shrine by the Japanese leaders to worship their dead army men, including ‘Class-A war criminals’ who died in the World War II, are also controversial in South Korea.2
The instrumental use of historical issues in domestic politics and foreign affairs is also quite common in both South Korea and Japan. In case of South Korea, political leaders often use historical memories and victimisation by the Japanese colonial regime to generate strong nationalistic feelings. 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’.
However, the recent conciliatory approach adopted by South Korea towards Japan with regards to the colonial history reflects the improvement in the bilateral relations between these two neighbouring countries. The cooperation between South Korea and Japan on the issue of enlisting of historical Sado gold and silver mine of Japan as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in July 2024 is a remarkable development. From the South Korean account, hundreds of Korean workers were forcibly recruited by the Japanese colonial regime to work in dangerous circumstances at the Sado mine. 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
Japan had repeatedly tried to enlist Sado mine historical site related to the Japanese history of Edo period (1603–1867) as the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2022. Japan highlighted the historical importance of this mine which is located in the Niigata Prefecture, but did not........