During World War II, the Meiji government exploited hundreds of forced laborers and prisoners of war — many of whom were Korean — to operate the Sado Island Gold Mines. Despite this deplorable history, the Japanese government has recently nominated the mines for UNESCO World Heritage status. In response, the Korean government has expressed its deep regrets and has called for an immediate retraction. On this topic, we have asked Alexis Dudden (professor at the University of Connecticut), David Palmer (professor at the University of Melbourne), and Jaeheon Choi (professor at Konkuk University) to share their views on what this move implies for future relations between Seoul and Tokyo.
