Towards a history of reconciliation in East Asia : the interpretation of Hashima Island, Japan

Abstract

Heritage interpretation can act as a bridge to connect people with heritage places through the creation of cognitive and emotional links. The interpretation, however, becomes more challenging when a place has a shared and contested history is to be interpreted. Korea and Japan still have unresolved historical issues that have been contentious throughout past decades, and Hashima island exemplifies such tensions between the two nation-states. Hashima island was once an intensely populated coalmine community that has been active for almost six decades, in particular, during the world-war period. In 2015, the island has been nominated as part of the serial nomination ‘Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining’, while its inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site was largely controversial due to the Korean forced labor taken place in the island. The issue still has not been resolved as the Korean narrative is neglected in the current interpretation plan of the island, despite the recommendation from ICOMOS to “allow an understanding of the full history for each site”. This dissertation will develop a common historical narrative to interpret Hashima Island, that is comprehensive and inclusive. The proposed interpretive narrative is to facilitate a shift in visitor perspective as well as an acceptance of an alternative point of view. The study encompasses an extensive research on the historical context of Hashima island as well as the world war-time history and furthermore, a study of the ‘collective memories’ of each country regarding the world wars to better understand the two conflicting narratives of Hashima island. The paper concludes with a proposed narrative that links the two histories incorporating the personal stories of the related stakeholders.