A rendering image of the Utoro peace memorial hall is seen. (Photo courtesy of the Utoro Minkan Kikin Zaidan)

       UJI, Kyoto -- Locals and their supporters are set to build a peace memorial hall to share the history of the Utoro area, where many "Zainichi" Korean residents of Japan live, since it was established during World War II.

       There will be a permanent exhibition on the history of the area, where Korean laborers involved in the construction of the Kyoto airfield during the war and their children lived and formed a community. The Utoro Heiwa Kinenkan memorial hall is scheduled to open in April 2022 in the city of Uji, Kyoto Prefecture.

       The Utoro area has its roots in a group of lodgings for Korean laborers gathered by government-controlled companies. Workers, families and relatives who remained in the area after the war lived in a poor environment with limited infrastructure.

       A dispute over the site occurred with a real estate company that acquired the land, and the supreme court ordered eviction of the area in 2000, but the South Korean government and foundations as well as volunteers in and out of Japan supported the locals. A South Korean government-affiliated foundation purchased part of the land, and the construction of municipal housing began under a concept supported by the Japanese central government, Kyoto Prefectural Government, and Uji Municipal Government. The first buildings were completed in 2018.

       The memorial hall will be constructed and operated by the Utoro Minkan Kikin Zaidan, a private-sector fund consisting of locals. After completion of the first buildings, the memorial hall was proposed as a place to reflect on the history of the residents and to pass it on to the next generation, as well as for old and new generations and Japanese people and Zainichi Koreans to interact with each other. A construction plan was made after collecting Utoro residents' opinions at workshops and on other occasions.

       According to the plan, about 200 million yen (some $1.8 million) will be spent to build a three-story steel-framed memorial hall measuring a total of 462 meters on the east side of the site consisting of around 836 square meters. Next to it, the ruins of a dormitory called "hanba," built during the war for Korean workers, will also be relocated and rebuilt.

       The first floor of the memorial hall designed by Moon Chong Hyonn, a first-class architect who has been involved in supporting the area for many years, will host a cafe where visitors can interact, and the second floor will be for exhibitions. The front yard will be a space where various events such as singing, dancing and barbequing can be held. In addition to explanatory panels, the exhibitions will include everyday items actually used by locals after the war, and photos taken from the prewar period to the current day.

       Jinwoong Kwak, the co-representative of the foundation's construction promotion committee, explained, "I want it to be a place where locals, who remember the history and went through hard times, can use to have a fulfilling life."

       Hideo Tanaka, chairman of the Utoro neighborhood association, said, "I hope it will be a place where Korean people and Japanese people can come together, without forgetting history and to pass it on to future generations."

       (Japanese original by Kentaro Suzuki, Gakken Uji Local Bureau)

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