Son inherits father’s legacy on forced laborers in Japan

By Kim Se-jeong

A son of a Korean laborer, who was forced to work in a mine in Japan during Japan’s colonial rule (1910-1945), came to Korea to raise funds needed to reopen a memorial hall commemorating 3,000 such miners.

Lee Yong-sik, 51, is the son of Lee Jung-ho (1932-1995), founder of the Tanba Mangan Memorial Hall, and director of the museum.

Located north of Kyoto, the museum was opened in 1989 by his father, who died of pneumoconiosis in 1995.

“My father opened it to commemorate the laborers forced to leave Korea during the Japanese occupation and to remind the Japanese public of the atrocities committed on its own land,” the son said during a photo exhibition held at the National Assembly complex, Monday.

Lee is preparing to reopen a museum that will last. After two years out of business, the doors will open again on June 25.

Lee’s father was among almost 3,000 from Korea, who were sent to the vicinity of Kyoto which had rich manganese deposits. No accurate data is available, though.

The father sold everything the family had to build the museum. He recreated the mines — 0.9 meter in height and 1 meter in width — and crooked-backed workers, among others.

So narrow was the mine that it was dubbed a “racoon” cave, the son said. Light could only last as long as the oil in a seashell would burn. Pneumoconiosis was commonplace among the workers, including his father. The pay, if given, was never enough compared to the workload.

“His mother stitched every single doll that was exhibited,” Rep. Park Sun-young of the minor opposition Liberty Forward Party said. She and a few other lawmakers have actively advocated the reopening of the museum, and to this end, she visited the site earlier this year.

In the first few years after opening, the museum was financially sound, receiving an average of 20,000 people every year.

Yet, financial support from the Japanese government, which was normally accessible to museums in the country, was never available to Lee. Then in May 2009, two decades after opening, it had to close.

“On his death bed, my father said not to spend a penny on his funeral. Instead, he wanted to spend that money for the museum,” the son said.

The support he found in South Korea was a catalyst.

Rep. Park and other like-minded colleagues and activists pledged to raise funds.

“I offer my congratulations on the reopening, and will work to make sure it remains open,” Park said.

The tentative goal is to find 1,000 supporters who will donate 5,000 won every month. To date, some 700 have come forward.

“It will be enough to run the place,” Lee said.

Yoon Do-hyun Band, a renowned Korean rock group, added its support. It held a charity concert last year in Kyoto, which enabled Lee to complete the renovations.

Japan wasn’t the only place to which workers were sent.

Another was Sakhalin, an island north of Japan which is now under Russian jurisdiction. Workers were mobilized to do similar work.

Descendants and families of the workers on the island have demanded compensation from Japan for inhumane treatment, which the Japanese government has accepted to some degree. The outcry also prompted Seoul to finance them to visit and even settle back in Korea.

Yet the compensation package was never available to Lee.

“I want people to hear what happened, especially in Japan. This will make the descendants of Korean immigrants in Japan live better,”

For those who wish to donate, visit www.tanbamangan.net.