Memorial ceremony held to mourn Korean victims of the A-bomb
Aug. 9, 2008
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
About 250 people attended the Memorial Ceremony for Korean A-bomb Victims, held on August 5 in front of the Monument in Memory of the Korean Victims of the A-bomb in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
Kwon Ohwon, leader of the Hiroshima Headquarters of the Korean Residents Union in Japan, dedicated the register containing the names of the Korean dead, now 2,633 with the addition of five who died during the past year. In his address, he vowed, “We will do everything we can to achieve a lasting peace.” The victims were mourned in a dance performed by women in traditional dress and in song.
Kan Moonhee, the 89-year-old chair of the Special Committee Seeking Measures for the Korean A-bomb Victims, who is undergoing treatment for an illness, visited the monument prior to the ceremony to offer flowers.
The ceremony is in its 39th year and its 10th since the monument was moved inside the park. Hwang Cheung Ja, 18, a first-year student at Hiroshima City University who helped run the ceremony, said, “Both of my grandparents, as well my father, were exposed to the atomic bomb. I reaffirmed my responsibility as a member of the next generation to communicate this tragedy.”
(Originally published on August 6, 2008)
About 250 people attended the Memorial Ceremony for Korean A-bomb Victims, held on August 5 in front of the Monument in Memory of the Korean Victims of the A-bomb in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
Kwon Ohwon, leader of the Hiroshima Headquarters of the Korean Residents Union in Japan, dedicated the register containing the names of the Korean dead, now 2,633 with the addition of five who died during the past year. In his address, he vowed, “We will do everything we can to achieve a lasting peace.” The victims were mourned in a dance performed by women in traditional dress and in song.
Kan Moonhee, the 89-year-old chair of the Special Committee Seeking Measures for the Korean A-bomb Victims, who is undergoing treatment for an illness, visited the monument prior to the ceremony to offer flowers.
The ceremony is in its 39th year and its 10th since the monument was moved inside the park. Hwang Cheung Ja, 18, a first-year student at Hiroshima City University who helped run the ceremony, said, “Both of my grandparents, as well my father, were exposed to the atomic bomb. I reaffirmed my responsibility as a member of the next generation to communicate this tragedy.”
(Originally published on August 6, 2008)
