South Korean A-Bomb Victims Remembered in Hiroshima

Hiroshima, Aug. 5 (Jiji Press)–A memorial ceremony was held in Hiroshima on Wednesday for South Korean victims of the U.S. atomic bombing of the western Japan city in the closing days of World War II, hosted by a group of South Koreans living in Japan. Organized by the Hiroshima regional branch of the Korean Residents Union in Japan, known as Mindan, the 57th such event took place at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima the day before the anniversary of the Aug. 6, 1945 bombing. In a speech, Kim Ki-sung, head of the Hiroshima branch, highlighted the responsibility to pass on the history of South Korean atomic bombing victims to future generations. Kim said that nuclear weapons abolition and lasting peace can be achieved through continued efforts to convey the cruelty of nuclear arms and the preciousness of peace. Of the approximately 250 attendees, 25 were bereaved family members and survivors living in South Korea, along with executives from the union’s central headquarters and officials from the Overseas Koreans Agency. A list of the names of 2,826 victims, including two who died in the past year, was placed in a memorial monument. An 80-year-old in utero atomic bomb survivor attending the ceremony for the first time after coming from South Korea expressed hope that such memorial events for South Korean victims would continue in the future. The chairman of the union’s special committee for measures for South Korean victims welcomed the fact that a South Korean survivors’ group was invited to the annual ceremony in Hiroshima for the first time, through the Overseas Koreans Agency. The chairman also said coordination is under way for survivors living in Hiroshima to participate in a memorial service for victims to be held in South Korea next year, expressing hope for continuing Japan-South Korea exchanges among atomic bomb survivors. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]