There Is a Former Japanese Imperial Torpedo Factory under the Busan Port

A former teacher and a professional documentary writer Jung Chung-Je (53, Sinan-Myeon, Sancheong-Gun, Gyeongnam) drew attention by saying that he discovered a pathway to a torpedo factory, which was built in the Japanese colonial period, at 16m under ground of a hardware store site in Munhyeon 4-Dong, Nam-Gu, Busan, which belonged to the former Chosun Viceroy Department.

Mr. Jung added that there is a chance that the Japanese Army hid many treasures that they exploited from China right before Japan collapsed.

The author of the ‘363 Days of Nightmare,’ which disclosed the reality of the Samcheong Camp, and the ‘Real Story of Jung Soon-Duk,’ which was the story of the crowded life of a female partisan, got into this search project in 9 years ago. It was after he accidentally heard a story from a friend that there was a fortress, which had been built in Japanese colonial period, under the Busan Port and many treasures were hidden inside of it.

Mr. Jung was into this search project to leave a good documentary to the next generation, and he concentrated on this although he was treated as a crazy man. After he dug the spot on March with a colleague, he succeeded to find a ‘pathway to the fortress’ that was 3m high and 2.5m wide.

According to Mr. Jung, as a result of the unmanned underwater camera shot of the place that was closed to public, he confirmed that very old looking bags were piled up 5 stories high.

And a professor of a university in Daejeon confirmed a pathway to a cave after a electronic search on early January, and an American professional underground search company, who had searched there last year, also presented its opinion that there were very large underground space there.

Mr. Jung heard a story from a forced laborer, who was drafted near Busan those days, that he was moved to a place 30 minutes away from the central pier of the Busan Port by car with blind folded and did a underground digging work. Mr. Jung insisted that the historical truth, which some 900 Koreans were drafted and put to work to make a fortress for 6 years in here, was being revealed.

Mr. Jung also insists that Japan tried to move gold sticks that fit in 14 train freight cars (450t) and 36 gold and copper Buddha statues, which Japan exploited from China, to Japan before she was defeated; however, they hid them here because the seaway was blocked by the US Navy.

silent@donga.com