From colonial company housing to dark tourism site: the complex legacy of the Mitsubishi Workers’ Housing in Samneung

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the significance of the preservation of the Mitsubishi Workers’ Housing Complex in Samneung, Korea by examining its landscape and historical context as a legacy of colonial power during the Japanese rule of Korea. Mitsubishi Workers’ Housing is the only remaining living quarters in Korea used by the workers of the Mitsubishi Military Factory, many of whom were forcibly mobilized, where human rights abuses and labor exploitation were a daily routine. It remains a symbol of poverty to this day and has been neglected on the periphery of urban development. Through field visits and interviews, this paper argues the importance of the site, which is historical evidence of forced labor mobilization, as a place of modern cultural heritage and a dark tourism site, so that it may be reborn as a place for historical awareness and education to prevent historical tragedies from repeating themselves.