Lee Jong Geun’s daughters attend memorial ceremony for Korean A-bomb victims Shizuka, Chiyo determined to carry on father’s wish, see Korean victims’ register placed back in monument
Aug. 6, 2022
by Yu Kawakami, Staff Writer
On August 5, the memorial ceremony for Korean A-bomb victims was held in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in the city’s Naka Ward. In attendance were two daughters of the late Lee Jong Guen, who served as chair of the Committee Seeking Measures for the Korean A-bomb Victims, and died on July 30 at the age of 93. He experienced the atomic bombing and discrimination and wished for a peaceful world. His daughters renewed their determination to carry on their late father’s wish.
The memorial ceremony, organized by the Hiroshima Headquarters of the Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan), was held in front of the Monument in Memory of the Korean Victims of the A-bomb. Mr. Lee’s daughter Shizuka Morita, 53, a resident of Tokyo, and Lee Chiyo, 52, who lives in Asaminami Ward, attended the ceremony, carrying a portrait of their late father. They saw the register of Korean victims placed back in the monument. The register contains the names of 2,802 victims, including those of 16 whose deaths were confirmed during the past year. They listened to memorial speeches for Mr. Lee.
After the ceremony, Chiyo said, “He trained his body during his fight against appendiceal cancer and strongly hoped to attend the ceremony. I never thought he would die so soon.”
When he was 16 and working for the Hiroshima Railway Bureau, Mr. Lee experienced the atomic bombing near the Kojin Bridge about two kilometers from the hypocenter and suffered severe burns. He hid the fact that he was a second-generation Korean resident in Japan and that he was an A-bomb survivor. He began telling of his experience using his real name in 2012 when he shared his experience of the atomic bombing on a voyage organized by Peace Boat, a nongovernmental organization. He shared his experience of the atomic bombing and discrimination with children.
About two years ago, Mr. Lee asked Chiyo to pass on his A-bomb experience. She has gone through the city’s training to become an A-bomb legacy successor. The text for sharing his experience has been completed and checked by her father. “I would like to convey it in Korean and English as well so that I can communicate my father’s wish to as many people as possible,” she said. She is now undergoing training for improving her speaking skills, and will begin telling her father’s experience in fiscal 2023.
Shizuka recalled how her father was grieved about other Koreans who did not have their parents or siblings nearby, saying, “It breaks my heart when I think that they died in anxiety and sorrow.”
Kim Kiseong, 59, a second-generation A-bomb survivor and member of Mindan, said, “Mr. Lee worked so hard to convey his A-bomb experience. As he spoke so cheerfully, even cruel words reached children’s hearts.”
(Originally published on August 6, 2022)
On August 5, the memorial ceremony for Korean A-bomb victims was held in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in the city’s Naka Ward. In attendance were two daughters of the late Lee Jong Guen, who served as chair of the Committee Seeking Measures for the Korean A-bomb Victims, and died on July 30 at the age of 93. He experienced the atomic bombing and discrimination and wished for a peaceful world. His daughters renewed their determination to carry on their late father’s wish.
The memorial ceremony, organized by the Hiroshima Headquarters of the Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan), was held in front of the Monument in Memory of the Korean Victims of the A-bomb. Mr. Lee’s daughter Shizuka Morita, 53, a resident of Tokyo, and Lee Chiyo, 52, who lives in Asaminami Ward, attended the ceremony, carrying a portrait of their late father. They saw the register of Korean victims placed back in the monument. The register contains the names of 2,802 victims, including those of 16 whose deaths were confirmed during the past year. They listened to memorial speeches for Mr. Lee.
After the ceremony, Chiyo said, “He trained his body during his fight against appendiceal cancer and strongly hoped to attend the ceremony. I never thought he would die so soon.”
When he was 16 and working for the Hiroshima Railway Bureau, Mr. Lee experienced the atomic bombing near the Kojin Bridge about two kilometers from the hypocenter and suffered severe burns. He hid the fact that he was a second-generation Korean resident in Japan and that he was an A-bomb survivor. He began telling of his experience using his real name in 2012 when he shared his experience of the atomic bombing on a voyage organized by Peace Boat, a nongovernmental organization. He shared his experience of the atomic bombing and discrimination with children.
About two years ago, Mr. Lee asked Chiyo to pass on his A-bomb experience. She has gone through the city’s training to become an A-bomb legacy successor. The text for sharing his experience has been completed and checked by her father. “I would like to convey it in Korean and English as well so that I can communicate my father’s wish to as many people as possible,” she said. She is now undergoing training for improving her speaking skills, and will begin telling her father’s experience in fiscal 2023.
Shizuka recalled how her father was grieved about other Koreans who did not have their parents or siblings nearby, saying, “It breaks my heart when I think that they died in anxiety and sorrow.”
Kim Kiseong, 59, a second-generation A-bomb survivor and member of Mindan, said, “Mr. Lee worked so hard to convey his A-bomb experience. As he spoke so cheerfully, even cruel words reached children’s hearts.”
(Originally published on August 6, 2022)
