Controversy over development pushes historical restoration to the side…“Sites of memory must be included”

The colonial Korean Military Command was a key institution during the final stages of the Japanese occupation, with over 200,000 Korean youths drafted into forced labor. The former site of the command, located beneath the grounds of Unsan Children's Park, is now often overlooked by visitors. To reclaim the forgotten stories of war, experts argue that this space must be given proper importance and not forgotten.

Professor Kim Hyun-seok of Dongguk University, who has studied Japanese occupation in Korea, expressed his frustration during a recent interview with Haneullet (한겨레). The South Post area of Unsan Children's Park, located in the southern portion of the former Japanese military base, was opened as a temporary national park in the early 20th century, but remains the most significant reminder of colonial oppression.

The government's continued neglect of the site, including the absence of designation as a cultural heritage site, highlights the crisis in the ongoing Seoul Park development project.