Simulating Silence

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Regional Perspectives

Korean and Chinese discussions of Hashima Island: media coverage and public discourse (2015–2025)

This annotated bibliography surveys how Hashima Island's contested heritage has been discussed in Korean- and Chinese-language media from 2015 to 2025. The sources span news reports, government-affiliated publications, cultural commentary, and first-person reportage, revealing how different societies frame the island's history of forced labor within broader debates about memory politics, UNESCO World Heritage governance, and Japan's relationship with its wartime past.

Together, these sources document a sustained regional discourse that positions Hashima as a focal point for unresolved historical grievances—offering essential context for understanding why digital heritage projects addressing this site operate within such fraught interpretive terrain.

Learning context: Key sources from this collection are integrated into Module 07: Positions & Perspectives, which analyzes how regional media framings shape heritage governance.

About This Collection

These sources were compiled to demonstrate the breadth and intensity of regional engagement with Hashima Island's contested heritage. They represent a cross-section of institutional perspectives:

  • State and state-affiliated media (People's Daily, KCNA, Independence Hall of Korea)
  • Commercial news outlets (Kyunghyang Shinmun, Hankyoreh, Global Times, The Paper)
  • Regional press (Taiwan's CNA, Hong Kong's HK01)
  • First-person and feature journalism (Jiemian News, The Paper)

The selection prioritizes sources that engage substantively with questions of historical memory, UNESCO heritage governance, and Japan's 2015 pledge to acknowledge forced labor.

South Korea

일본, '군함도' 세계유산 등재 때 약속도 여전히 안 지켜

News Report · February 2025 · Korean — Kyunghyang Shinmun

"Japan Still Fails to Honor Its Promise from the Hashima World Heritage Listing"

Reports on Japan's failure to honor its 2015 UNESCO pledge to acknowledge Korean forced labor at Hashima. The article criticizes Japan for nine years of inaction and warns that South Korea may push for World Heritage delisting due to Japan's historical negation.

Key Argument: Japan's decade of non-compliance constitutes grounds for reconsidering the site's World Heritage status.

지옥섬에 얽힌 비극적인 역사 — 영화 <군함도>

Institutional Publication · November 2017 · Korean — Independence Hall of Korea

"The Tragic History Entangled with Hell Island — The Film The Battleship Island"

An educational piece examining the film against historical facts. Details the brutal conditions for Korean workers on "Hell Island," noting that about 800 Koreans were forcibly taken there and 122 died. Condemns Japan for quickly reneging on its promise to UNESCO.

Statistical Claim: Approximately 800 Koreans forcibly conscripted; 122 deaths documented from accidents, illness, and crushing.

유네스코 '군함도 유산 등재' 재점검 무산...한국, 표대결 패배로

News Report · September 2023 · Korean — Hankyoreh

"UNESCO Review of Hashima Heritage Listing Fails... Korea Loses Vote"

Reports that UNESCO's World Heritage Committee declined to reopen the review of Hashima Island's listing. A motion to hold Japan accountable was voted down—a result causing "regret" in South Korea.

Diplomatic Context: South Korea's 2023 attempt to revisit Japan's heritage obligations through UNESCO channels was defeated in committee voting.

North Korea

North Korean State Commentary on Japan's UNESCO Nomination

State Commentary · May 2015 · Korean — Rodong Sinmun via KCNA

North Korean outlets fiercely denounced Japan's nomination of Hashima for World Heritage status. The DPRK media accused Japan of seeking UNESCO recognition for sites "built on Korean slave labor," demanding that these "blood-stained" sites not be glorified.

Framing: Characterizes Hashima as a monument built through Korean slave labor that should not receive international recognition.

Mainland China

揭开日本"地狱岛"的罪恶

Opinion/Commentary · August 2017 · Chinese — People's Daily

"Exposing the Crimes of Japan's 'Hell Island'"

Describes Hashima's history as a "hell island" where hundreds of Koreans and Chinese were enslaved in lethal conditions. Calls for sincere reflection, stating that only by honestly facing such crimes can Japan move forward.

Central Thesis: Japan's failure to fulfill its 2015 UNESCO commitments reflects a broader pattern of historical evasion.

军舰岛是旅游景点还是劳工地狱？日本学者揭强征劳工历史

In-Depth Feature · December 2017 · Chinese — Jiemian News

"Is Battleship Island a Tourist Attraction or a Labor Hell? Japanese Scholar Reveals Forced Labor History"

Interviews Japanese historian Shinkai Ichihiro, contrasting Hashima's tourist facade with its hidden past. Follows Shinkai's research uncovering Mitsubishi's records of over 200 Chinese and 500 Korean laborers during WWII.

Documentary Evidence: Cites Mitsubishi company records documenting specific numbers of Chinese (200+) and Korean (500+) laborers on Hashima during WWII.

亲临军舰岛：现实这一面触目惊心，历史那一面整体缺席

First-Person Reportage · July 2017 · Chinese — The Paper (澎湃新闻)

"Visiting Battleship Island: This Side of Reality is Shocking, That Side of History is Entirely Absent"

A Chinese journalist's first-person account of joining a Hashima Island tour. Observes that Japanese guides completely avoid the forced labor topic. When the author asked about Korean workers, the guide became evasive.

Observational Evidence: Documents the experiential gap between what tourists are told and what the historical record indicates.

在日本"军舰岛"孤岛上，当年中国劳工几乎无路可逃

News Feature · December 2025 · Chinese — People's Daily via Sina

"On Japan's Isolated 'Battleship Island,' Chinese Laborers Had Almost No Escape"

To mark 80 years since WWII's end, a Chinese reporter visits Hashima. Recounts how approximately 40,000 Chinese were sent to Japan as forced laborers during the war, with ~7,000 dying.

Survivor Testimony: Includes testimony from Chinese laborer Li Qingyun describing a 1944 gas leak incident where supervisors ordered the mine entrance sealed with Chinese workers still inside.

歷史罪行不容抹殺——日本"軍艦島"目睹之怪現狀

Investigative Report · August 2022 · Chinese — People's Daily/Xinhua

"Historical Crimes Cannot Be Erased—The Strange Present State of Japan's 'Battleship Island'"

Published on the 77th anniversary of Japan's WWII surrender, Xinhua journalists visit Hashima and document systematic erasure. When the reporter asked about forced labor, the guide claimed ignorance: "I don't know this history." Pressed further, the guide admitted he only recites "what the company tells us to say."

Documented Encounter: As journalists departed, a Japanese tourist shouted at them: "There is no history of forced labor here!"

Taiwan

關於「軍艦島」（上）：染血的世界遺產

Commentary Feature · August 2017 · Chinese — United Daily News (Taiwan)

"On 'Battleship Island' (Part 1): A Blood-Soaked World Heritage"

Describes Hashima as a "blood-soaked World Heritage" site and recounts how its 2015 UNESCO inscription sparked outrage. Highlights the crowdfunded "Hashima Truth" video that Korean activists arranged to play 7,000+ times in Times Square.

關於「軍艦島」（下）：真實與虛構，宋仲基演出誰的記憶？

Commentary Feature · August 2017 · Chinese — United Daily News (Taiwan)

"On 'Battleship Island' (Part 2): Reality and Fiction—Whose Memory Does Song Joong-ki Perform?"

Examines the "memory war" between Japanese and Korean narratives. Notes that Google searches in Japan for "Hashima" and "forced labor" auto-complete with "lie" (噓) or "truth"—evidence of an active contest over historical interpretation.

Central Question: "Whose memory counts?" (誰的記憶才算數？)—framing the historiographical stakes of the Hashima controversy.

日軍艦島展史實爭議 UNESCO：未揭露完整歷史

News Report · July 2021 · Chinese — Central News Agency (Taiwan)

"Controversy over Historical Facts at Japan's Battleship Island Exhibition — UNESCO: Full History Not Disclosed"

Covers a UNESCO/ICOMOS investigative report which found that Japan's new Industrial Heritage Information Center in Tokyo failed to include the "full history" of sites like Hashima.

Institutional Finding: UNESCO expressed "strong regret" that Japan's Industrial Heritage Information Center failed to honor commitments made during the 2015 inscription process.

Hong Kong

從Fence到海中沉睡的鑽石——看日本人對軍艦島的隱形歧視

Cultural Commentary · December 2023 · Chinese — HK01

"From Fence to The Sleeping Diamond in the Sea — Examining Japanese 'Invisible Discrimination' Toward Battleship Island"

Cultural commentary by Hong Kong critic Tong Zhenzhao (汤禎兆) examining two recent Japanese TV dramas that allude to Hashima's history, analyzing the "invisible discrimination" in Japanese society's treatment of Hashima's legacy.

Analytical Frame: Distinguishes Hashima from Okinawa: whereas Okinawan suffering stems from external (American) occupation, Hashima's stigma emerges "from within"—Japanese people discriminating against those linked to the island's labor history.

Timeline Context: Key Events (2015–2025)

These sources cluster around several pivotal moments: