Preserving traces of wartime forced mobilization

Old row houses are seen in Incheon's Bupyeong District, April 3. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg

By Jack Greenberg

The past few months have been filled with headlines about wartime forced labor as the Yoon Seok Yeol administration tries to resolve the issue and repair bilateral ties with Japan.

While many are likely to be familiar with the general contours of this history, fewer are probably aware that remnants of the mobilization exist in a state of crumbling decay just a short distance from Seoul.

The area that is now Bupyeong 2-dong in Incheon was once known as Samneung Village. Samneung, when written with Chinese characters, corresponds to "Mitsubishi" in Japanese. At this location, which is only a five-minute walk from Dongsu Station on Incheon Subway Line 1, one can find the traces of an industrial housing complex once occupied by the Korean wartime laborers of private Japanese firms.

The remaining staff row houses, which date to 1938-39, were built by Hironaka Commerce and Industry as it tried to accommodate its 1,000-plus workforce. Hironaka, however, folded in 1942 after suffering heavy losses from rapid expansion. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which was then one of the largest firms in Japan's empire, took possession of the residences and rechristened its factory as Mitsubishi Steel Manufacturing.

The factory was located across from Incheon Arsenal ― now a shuttered U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) installation formerly known as Camp Market ― on the current site of Bupyeong Park, which until 1997 housed the Korean Army's 88th Maintenance Battalion.

As the war progressed, Mitsubishi and other companies serving Incheon arsenal drew in an influx of workers, including students from local schools. Threatened with the prospect of being taken into sex slavery or conscripted into the colonizer's army, the Korean staff toiled away making bulletproof steel plates, and eventually weapons like mortar rounds and artillery shells.

Old row houses stand along a road in Incheon's Bupyeong District, April 3. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg

South Korean victims of wartime forced labor and related parties are still seeking the seizure of Mitsubishi's local assets, despite the government's compensation plan. A suit filed on March 16 asked the Seoul Central District Court to allow the collection of compensation on behalf of two victims from Mitsubishi sub-subsidiary MH Power Systems Korea. Additionally, on April 5, the Daejeon District Court seized four additional patent rights from Mitsubishi on behalf of the victims and their families, bringing the current total to 10.

Visiting Mitsubishi Row Houses allows one to imagine the living conditions of the forced laborers. The units measure no more than 16.5 square meters and the single story is barely tall enough for an average adult to stand up in.

Some units remain occupied in the row house in Incheon's Bupyeong District, April 3. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg

An exposed portion of an outer wall reveals the use of clay and bamboo as building materials. Upkeep of some roofs has long been neglected. Loose ceramic tiles and car tires hold down shredded tarps and cheap vinyl sheets. Shattered glass and cracked shards of tile scatter the ground and crunch underfoot as one walks past a row of units.

Damage to a wall exposes bamboo and clay, April 3. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg

A look inside reveals peeling walls and ceilings, and large black patches of mold growth. Most units are clearly abandoned and have long been fastened shut with now-rusted locks. One of them, however, was held open with a wire and signs of life were visible inside. It is possible that a squatter still occupies it or has until quite recently.

Furniture remains in an abandoned unit of the row house in Incheon's Bupyeong District, April 3. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg

A red Buddhist swastika was pasted in the window of another unit, suggesting that it had been occupied by a private religious practitioner. At the end of the opposite row, a hand-painted signboard indicated a unit previously served as a small senior citizens' welfare center and bathhouse.

Red graffiti announces the demolition of the row house in Incheon's Bupyeong District, March 19. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg

Although their demolition is announced in red spray paint on most of the buildings, it appears the lodgings will not be demolished after all.

In 2019, some of the blocks were razed to make way for a new district administration office that opened in 2021. The row houses that still stand were to become a parking lot for the office. The move had the support of neighboring residents who saw the derelict structures as eyesores.

A contrast of architecture in Incheon's Bupyeong District, April 3. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg

At the request of the Culture Heritage Administration (CHA), the district eventually agreed to reconsider the parking lot plan and initiated a public-private council in July 2021. The council was tasked with studying the site's historical significance and recommending how it could be protected considering it is the only place in Korea where this type of housing is still found.

In mid-March, the district finally confirmed that it would apply for Mitsubishi Row House to be recognized under the CHA's classification system as registered cultural heritage. The application is expected to be filed in May.

A roof is in bad shape at a historic row house in Incheon's Bupyeong District, April 3. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg

Though it is still unclear exactly how the Mitsubishi Row House will be repaired without sacrificing its original character given its current condition, the initiative can be considered positive news for preservationists across the country who are fighting to prevent modern heritage sites from disappearing without their history being recorded.

All eyes are now on the nearby Camp Market where a citizens' council is fighting a desperate last stand to preserve another remnant of forced mobilization.

Banners are displayed, highlighting the protest concerning the planned demolition of heritage buildings at Camp Market in Incheon's Bupyeong District, March 19. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg

Jobyeongchang Hospital was built by the Japanese to treat Korean laborers injured in the wartime arsenal. It sits on military land that the U.S. began to return in 2019, after 16 years of delays over environmental pollution issues. The Ministry of National Defence plans to convert the entire former base area into a community park by 2028, but soil remediation must take place first.

Studies have found severe contamination at the site with TBH compounds and other dioxins that are highly toxic and carcinogenic. The defense ministry was scheduled to turn the land over to the quasi-governmental Korea Environment Corp. in April for decontamination, and officials have said this requires the demolition of the hospital. To prevent this from being pushed ahead, the citizens' council filed for a temporary injunction against the ministry at the Incheon District Court on March 23.

A relay hunger strike is ongoing at this tent near Camp Market in Incheon's Bupyeong District, March 19. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg

With the situation deadlocked, the citizens' council is continuing its relay hunger strike, which has been ongoing since Jan. 25, at a tent outside of Camp Market. A candlelit vigil is also being held at 6 p.m. daily at the same location. Members say their protest will continue indefinitely until the demolition order is withdrawn completely.

Jack Greenberg is a recipient of the Global Korea Scholarship, currently pursuing a master's degree at Korea University's Graduate School of International Studies. He is interested in the history of South Korean housing and urban development and documents the changing cityscapes across the country in his free time. Follow him on Twitter at @jackwgreenberg.