Hold onto your hats, folks! The Sado gold and silver mine in Japan just hit the UNESCO World Heritage jackpot, despite causing quite a stir with South Korea.
According to VN Express on Sunday (July 28), this ancient mine made the list after South Korea decided to drop its objections. What’s the fuss about, you ask?
Well, this isn’t your average hole in the ground. The Sado mine has been around since the 12th century and kept churning out precious metals well into the post-World War II era. Japan’s push to get it recognized as a World Heritage site was all about its long history and the traditional mining techniques used there—while Europe was busy mechanizing, these folks were doing it old school.
But hold up, South Korea wasn’t having it at first. They were pretty miffed about the whole forced labor situation during World War II when Japan occupied the Korean Peninsula. Yep, it gets messy.
UNESCO gave the green light on Saturday during a committee meeting in New Delhi. The decision came after Japan promised to highlight the site’s archaeological preservation, mining activities, and social and labor organization.
Japan’s Foreign Minister couldn’t contain his joy and gave a big shout-out to the local community for their relentless efforts to make this happen. It’s been a long haul, with Japan pushing hard after scoring a win with the Shimane silver mine in western Japan.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said they’d greenlighted the inclusion on the condition that Japan tells the whole story at the Sado Gold Mine site, not just the shiny parts. They’re keeping a close eye on how Japan plans to handle this.
Historians have been pretty vocal about the harsh realities faced by Korean workers there. They argue that the working conditions amounted to forced labor, with Korean laborers having it far worse than their Japanese counterparts. A Japanese political history professor pointed out that discrimination was rampant, and Koreans were stuck with the most dangerous jobs.
UNESCO’s committee meeting continues until Wednesday, so who knows what other surprises are in store?