'Slave worker statue' likely to unnerve Japan
By Yi Whan-woo
A statue of a Korean slave during the Japanese colonial era set up in Yongsan, Seoul. / Yonhap
Civil activists are installing statues symbolizing hundreds of thousands of Koreans who were forced into slave labor during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule.
The move is likely to trigger a fresh round of diplomatic tension between Korea and Japan amid their ongoing dispute over the statues of former Korean sex slaves for the Japanese military.
On Saturday, a civic alliance led by the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the country’s two largest umbrella unions, unveiled a statue of a slave worker in front of Yongsan Station, central Seoul. Participants of the unveiling ceremony included Woo Won-shik, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.
The 2.1-meter sculpture is of a miner with a pickax in his hands, symbolizing those who, along with other slave workers, were forcibly taken to Japan and were asked to produce military goods and supplies under harsh conditions for the Japanese Army during World War II.
In separate efforts, an advocate group for Korean slave workers said Monday that it plans to hold a press conference in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, Tuesday, to mark the 72nd anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan.
The National Association for Justice for Forced Laborers said it will reveal details concerning the three statues that it plans to build across the country by the end of this year.
Of the three statues, one will be installed in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul and another in front of the Japanese consulate in Busan, according to the association’s secretary-general Jang Duk-hwan _ the same locations where statues of a girl honoring former sex slaves have been placed. Japan has asked to have them removed, claiming they are against a bilateral agreement reached in December 2015 to resolve disputes over its wartime sex crimes.
The remaining statue will be established in front of Gwangju Station.
“We’ll start with Seoul and will try to erect the statue there in October,” Jang said.
It will be made of stone, with a width of 2 meters and 3-meter in height.
The statue will be aimed at showing how the Korean miners endured the risk of digging coal for the Japanese military while being brutally beaten and mistreated.
The statues are currently being built by Kim Un-sung and Kim Seo-kyung, the husband-and-wife artists who have made a series of sculptures symbolizing former sex slaves, including the ones by the Japanese diplomatic missions here.
“I’m aware of the ongoing sex slavery disputes and that our new statue concerning coerced labor will intensify the diplomatic row between Korea and Japan,” Jang said. “That’s exactly what we’ve intended. In particular, I hope our statues by the Japanese diplomatic missions will raise public awareness toward the slave workers.”
Jang claimed that issues on forced labor received “less attention” than sex slavery and that he could not wait any longer considering the dwindling number of surviving victims.
“We’ve supported the advocate groups for sex slaves for years and now it’s our turn to get support from society,” he said.