To Discover Hashima Island

Dohyun Lee

Submitted to the Department of Architecture in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Bachelor of Science in Architecture

The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created.

Signature of Author.Signature redacted Dohyun Lee Department of Architecture May 172016

Certified by ...... Signature redacted Mee- Yoon ofesso Architecture, Th.igi Sunervisor

Accepted by ...... Signature redacted ;' John OchsendoA- Director oflndergraduate Program of Architecture Thesis Committee

1 Thesis Commitee

Meejin Yoon Professor of Architecture Thesis Supervisor

Gediminas Urbonas Associate Professor of Art, Culture & Technology Thesis Reader

2 To Discover Hashima Island

Dohyun Lee

Submitted to the Department of Architecture on May 17, 2016 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Bachelor of Science in Architecture

ABSTRACT

From 1916 to 1945, Japanese governments recruited Korean laborers from South Korea for coal mining. The laborers ranged from thirteen to nineteen years old-most of them were still middle school or high school students. Hoping to earn money as the government promised, but unaware of the hostility and dan- ger to which they would be exposed, 600 young Korean laborers were sent to an island called Hashima Island.

Hashima Island has been desolate since 1974 after its coal resources were depleted. Although the island is no longer in use, the current condition of the architecture of Hashima Island speaks the truth of the histo- ry. The perimeter of the island is surrounded by walls; the laborers were never able to escape the hostile situation nor had a chance look at the world outside of the island. The wall is composed of three different layers: pre-cast concrete, rocks, and noise barrier; the wall as a whole is three-meters thick. Although the physical distance between the interior and exterior of the island is only three meters, the historical distance stopped in the thickness of the wall. The wall, which is the most problematic yet potentially useful component of the island, has to be interrupted architecturally in order to re-vitalize the timeline of the Korean laborers.

My thesis is to reveal the neglected and hidden histories of Korean forced laborers in Hashima Island through intervention upon the existing walls. By creating an outdoor city museum by transforming the wall, the architecture of the island is re-discovered. The wall is punctured, chiseled, carved, and shaped to create an episodic and linear path along the wall and to be in communication with the surrounding water, mountains, and ultimately the users. The wall allows water to overflow into the site, delineating the lowest topography, and provides access to the underground basement dormitories of the Korean laborers. The wall is no longer a static barricade; it performs as a moving network among the existing materials of the island and the visitors.

Thesis Supervisor: Meejin Yoon Title: Professor of Architecture

3 Acknowledgments

My sincerest gratitude to Meejin Yoon.

Thanks to Gediminas Urbonas, Lorena Bello, Joel Lamere, Ryan Murphy, John Ochsendorf, and my mom, Sunhwa Lee.

My sincerest condolences to all of the victims in Hashima Island.

Special thanks to Hyung-Suk Kim and Jang-Sup Choi, the only survivors from the tragedy in Hashima Island for providing me insight into what I need to do.

4 Table of Contents

- 1 -

Introduction

-2-

Precedent: Utopia by Thomas More

Site Information : Disparity in Timeline

Site Information : Disparity in Drawings

-3-

PROPOSAL

Site Intervention : A City Wall Museum Remembering the Korean Laborers

-4-

Appendices

Site Model

Bibliography/ Image Resources

5 To Discover Hashima Island A City Wall Museum Remembering Korean Laborers in Hashima Island

6 Introduction:

Hashima Island was a coal mining facility between 1887 and 1974. Located in southern Japan lying about 9 miles from Nakasaki, Hashima Island was purchased by Mitsubishi in 1890.

The coal mining required specific body types for workers: skinny and small. From 1916 to 1945, Japanese governments recruited Kore- an laborers from South Korea for coal mining in Hashima Island. The laborers ranged from thirteen to nineteen years old, skinny, small, yet strong and brave.

The Korean laborers worked in an unbelievably hostile environment. They worked for twelve hours every day not on the land, but inside the underground as deep as one kilometer. The temperature of the underground tunnels was as high as 113 Fahrenheit so that they had to wear underwear only during the work. The casualty was extremely high-out of 600 workers, 122 died. But, what's more tragic is that the number of the victims committing suicide was 10, and that drowned to death was 24.'

7 44 j

V 'T

I A

- *q

figure I images qfKorean laborers in Hashima iand

8 figure 2 scribbles on the coal mining tunnel translatedas, "Mom I miss you. I am hungry. I want to go home. " (fom right to left)

9 Precedent: Utopia by Thomas More2

"enjoys a life of luxury and elegance thanks to his idleness or his inessential services, while at the same time a labourer, a wagoner an artisan or afarmworker sweats so hard and so long that a beast of bur- den could scarcely bear it" (119)

10 -I------__M-

------q In A -M

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------

ri 13

"the island [is] the appearanceof crescent moon" (57) "rocks lie under the surface and are treacherous" (58)

II "The town is defended by a high, thick wall with numerous towers and bastions" (61) "solefunction of the syphogrants is to oversee and ensure that no one sits around idle" (64) "another class of slaves is made up of hard-working but impoverished drudgesfrom other nations" (91)

12 Site Information: Disparity in Timeline

"The slaves stay behind. They arefree, but trappedas never before, slaves now to their desire to sur- vive." (66)3

13 }T

Agure 3 | maps of Hashima Island

14 figure 4 an image oq Hashima Island in the 1900s

Jigure 5 | an image of Hashima Island in the 1930s

figure 5 1 an image of Hashima Island in the 2000s

15 figure 6 | populated Hashima Island in the 1930s

figure 7 abandonedHashina Island after 1974

16 Jigure 8| images of the current condition of Hashima Island

17 figure 9:| images u/the interior

18 figure 10 | the current condition of the walls

19 Site Information: Disparity in Drawings

20 Existing Documents

A r

Although the main purpose of the island was coal mining, Japan's proposal for Hashima Island does not reveal any info- mation about the coal mining tunnel.

B The ground and mountain are hatched black,

A providing no informa- A - tion about their mate- riality, depth, or space.

A * However, building details are elaborated, expressing their luxu- rious environment.

Mu mu if

figure II Official documents providedby Japanesegovernment

21l Proposed Document

The architectural interaction among the buildings, ground, tunnels, water, and walls are revealed.

The difference in scale of each element of the site is crucial for un- derstanding historical information of Hashi- ma Island.

The wall becomes the threshold of the site. Its location and dimension have architectual potential to connect different existing elements of the site.

22 I

Proposed Document I The dimension of the walls are highly 914 elaborated. The layers

'4 /4,7/' / of materials within the

4, /4 wall are revealed.

444/ / The wall is composed

'4 /944 of three different '4, 4~94'4 layers: pre-cast con- 4 //4/7 crete, rocks, and noise

'4, /4/ /4'/ '7 barrier; the wall as a 9 whole is three-meters '9 74/4/ thick. '4 4' ® '~ ,,4<9' '4 '4 .1~ Although the physical '9 9' '49/4' distance between the '4 interior and exterior of ''4 the island is only three ~ meters, the historical hi4/4 .4/~74~41 distance stopped in the 9 ' 9' ~4// /4"/ thickness of the wall.

1/ 4,9/ (#1/4

/441/4

/ '

23 ~V. 7<1

>44

A ~ / %4

~X 4 4' 4

24 Site Intervention : A City Wall Museum Remembering the Korean Laborers

'The wall, which is the most problematicyet potentiallyuseful component ofthe island, has to be interruptedarchi- tecturally in order to re-vitalize the timeline ofthe Korean laborers.'

25 I am approachingHashima island by a boal. Along the way, I am welcomed by a series ofopenings ofthe wall that specifically show five buildings on the highest hierar- chy'

26 'I dock my boat and turn right to immediately interactwith the wall.'

27 II

'As I am walking along the wall, now I am looking back to the ocean through the same wall. On the island, all I can see is the ocean.'

28 I

'The pre-castpart of the wall has been taken away, and now I can see rocks of the wall. The wall started to reveal different layers.

29 1 am underneath the wail.'

30 Now I ener into the wall, and I am completelv encased /y the wall. I am unable to distinguish where I am.

31 I somelinmes pop oiut ofihe wall and witness that ihe lowest topography oji he island is flooded.

32 I keep walking inside the wa/l, guided by light filtered through water The excess of flood was spitted out oji he wall, and now I see seascapes through the lens oflood.' I walk along ihe wa/i, squeezed by the buildings.

34 'ff iund another opening on the wall that allows me to enter the underground'

35 I

'The path undergroundis guiding me up to the mountains.'

36 'I aIm unable to distinguish where I am.

37 I

'I can enter several basements that arepartially flooded; I witness that the mountain is flooding too.'

- 38---

38 I I

'I eventually found the basement where the Korean victims used to live.'

......

39 The space is din/v lii ihrough the cracks above the ceiling where waier is dripping into the space. IfJound stairs that leads me up to the land.'

40 I

'But I am still underground, as dripping water continues on the land.'

41 'The path is leading me towardthe existing mountain road.'

-- k--

42 I walk along, squeezed by buildings.

43 I

'Drippingwater startedto decrease, and I am able to look at the islandfrom the mountains. Water is now flooding from the top of the mountains into holes through which I can see the coal mining tunnel.'

44 I

'The tunnel isflooding. The water will reach as deep as one kilometer The distance that the water will travel is two kilometers, first dripping down, and secondfilling up.'

45 'At some point, the island will be completelyflooded. I walk down the mountain and arrive at my boat.'

46 I

'The city museum tour was two kilometers, yet it took me only thirty minutes.

47 figure 12-20 (from left to right) | intervention upon the exisitng images

71 7 tbSj ------7 km M, I

48 Initial Site Plan Proposed Site Plan

INV'

-owl' LiL

SI E PLAN I SCA-E: E ')

49 C, in \~ t*-i W"Mw Mma /: ..1......

-- - Appendices

51 52 - - n Bibliography

(1) "Forced Laborers during Japanese Colonial Era." Korean Governmental Organization for Victims from Foriegn Countries. 1 Nov. 2015 . Web.

(2) More, Thomas. Utopia. England: Penguin Group, 2012. Print.

(3) Schalansky, Judith. Atlas of Remote Islands. New York: Penguin Group, 2010. Print.

(4) "Exploring Gunkanjima" A Tale of Two Islands - Gunkanjima and Kelham.16 Jun. 2013. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. Web.

Fischer, Nina. "Spelling dystopia = Superingu disutopia". Zurich : JRP/Ringier, c2012. Print.

Lavery, Carl; Dixon, Deborah P.; Hassall, Lee. "The future of ruins: the baroque melancholy of Hashima". Environ- ment & Planning A, Nov2014, Vol. 46 Issue 11. Print.

Lavery, Carl; Hassall, Lee. "A Future for Hashima". Performance Research. Jun2015, Vol. 20 Issue 3. Essay.

Shell, Marc. "Islandology : geography, rhetoric, politics". Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, [2014]. Print

55 Images Resources

1. http://star.ohmynews.com/NWSWeb/OhmyStar/atpg.aspx?CNTN CD=A002143639 2. http://www.etoday.co.kr/news/section/newsview.php?idxno=1 191666 3. Google Maps 4. http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/13/travelhashima-skyfall-island-visit/ 5. http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/13/travel/hashima-skyfall-island-visit/ 6. http://oppositelock.kinja.com/hashima-island-abandoned-japanese-mining-island-of-gho-1572461694 7. http://www.gourmantic.com/2013/01/08/hashima-island-skyfall/ 8. Google Earth 9. http://www.messynessychic.com/2012/10/29/the-bond-villains-lair-skyfalls-abandoned-island/ 10. Google Earth 11. https://gunkanjima.wordpress.com/category/photo-historical-materia/ 12. http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-ideas/inside-japan8217s-abandoned-ghost-island-of-hashima/sto- ry-e6frfqer-1226733007193 13. Google Earth 14. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/07/30/283457/the-future-of-coal-the-dead-island-of-hashima/ 15. http://www.rantplaces.com/2015/10/19/15-abandoned-buildings-from-around-the-world-that-will-haunt-your- dreams/ 16. Google Earth 17. http://www. 123rf.com/stock-photo/darkness.html 18. mishainik.live.journal.com 19. Google Earth 20. http://culturacolectiva.com/hashima-un-recorrido-en-la-isla-fantasma/