Statue of ex-forced laborer to be erected in Busan

Park Noh-hak

By Kwon Ji-youn

A statue of late Park Noh-hak, a former forced laborer who helped Koreans in Sakhalin return to Korea, will be built in his honor, according to a commemoration committee Tuesday.

A group of Sakhalin Koreans, who were mobilized as forced labor by the Japanese authorities during World War II, gathered early this year to set up a Park Noh-hak memorial hall.

Park was conscripted and sent to Sakhalin for labor in 1943. In 1956, he moved to Japan and founded an association for Koreans. Since then, he had worked to help Sakhalin Koreans return to Korea.

He composed a list of some 7,000 Sakhalin Koreans who desired to return to Korea, and this list is now dubbed the “Sakhalin List.” It has now become an artifact that provides verification regarding the Sakhalin Koreans and their return home.

Park Seung-ui, the committee chair, told The Korea Times that he has begun discussing with government officials about the construction of the statue.

“We are talking with relevant officials about building the statue in the memorial hall that will be built to remember the mobilization of Koreans as forced labor during the Japanese colonial era,” Park said.

“We are also looking into preparing a small exhibition hall to display records and videos related to Park Noh-hak’s life.”

The hall has yet to be completed. Once finished, it will house artifacts that illustrate the difficulties experienced by Koreans who were forcibly relocated during the Japanese colonial era.

The hall is expected to be completed by the end of this year or early next year. It will be located in Busan’s Nanggok Park.