Meeting held in central Hiroshima to share current situation surrounding atomic bomb survivors from Korean Peninsula, discrimination, being ineligible for support
May 11, 2025
by Kana Kobayashi, Staff Writer
Kim Jin Ho, 79, chair of a council of Korean atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima, gave a lecture at a meeting held at the Hiroshima Bar Association Hall in Naka Ward on May 10. Before 60 attendees, he spoke about the atomic bomb harm suffered by people from the Korean Peninsula, which was then a Japanese colony, and their present circumstances.
He explained that many people were brought from the Korean Peninsula to Hiroshima, which was then a military city, during the Pacific War. Some of them worked as drafted workers. He said they were exposed to the atomic bomb because of “Japan’s mistaken colonial policy.”
He also said atomic bomb survivors living in North Korea, which has no diplomatic relations with Japan, are not eligible for assistance and are asking for medical support. Sharing his own experience as a survivor exposed to radiation while in his mother’s womb, he said those who remained in Hiroshima after the bombing have suffered discrimination.
The meeting was organized by the executive committee for 8.6 Hiroshima Peace Gathering 2025, a citizens’ group.
(Originally published on May 11, 2025)
Kim Jin Ho, 79, chair of a council of Korean atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima, gave a lecture at a meeting held at the Hiroshima Bar Association Hall in Naka Ward on May 10. Before 60 attendees, he spoke about the atomic bomb harm suffered by people from the Korean Peninsula, which was then a Japanese colony, and their present circumstances.
He explained that many people were brought from the Korean Peninsula to Hiroshima, which was then a military city, during the Pacific War. Some of them worked as drafted workers. He said they were exposed to the atomic bomb because of “Japan’s mistaken colonial policy.”
He also said atomic bomb survivors living in North Korea, which has no diplomatic relations with Japan, are not eligible for assistance and are asking for medical support. Sharing his own experience as a survivor exposed to radiation while in his mother’s womb, he said those who remained in Hiroshima after the bombing have suffered discrimination.
The meeting was organized by the executive committee for 8.6 Hiroshima Peace Gathering 2025, a citizens’ group.
(Originally published on May 11, 2025)
