Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Victims Meeting
尹 “Please come to your homeland once”
Tears at the meeting with the President
Grandmother Park Nam-joo “I shed tears many times on a day like this”
For the first time, the leaders of Korea and Japan jointly pay tribute to the memorial for Korean atomic bomb victims.
“Please be healthy. Come to your homeland once. We will see you.”
On the 19th, President Yoon Seok-yeol gave his concluding remarks at a meeting with atomic bomb victims held in Hiroshima, Japan. Her Grandma Park smiled broadly as she wrapped President Yoon’s hand in hers and brought it to her cheek.
Grandmother Park, who served as the chairman of the Korean Atomic Bomb Victims Countermeasures Committee, commented on President Yoon’s first meeting as a Korean president to compatriots from the atomic bombing in Hiroshima, offering words of apology and consolation, and inviting them to Korea. You’re here,” he said. An official from the Presidential Office said, “The Office of Overseas Koreans will be established soon, and I hope that as one of the initial projects, invitations to the victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima will be made.”
At the beginning of the meeting, President Yoon personally pushed the chair back so that Grandmother Park could sit comfortably. Grandmother Park arrived at the meeting place later than President Yoon, and she was said to be moved by President Yoon’s courtesy. Grandma Park said to those around her, “I remember very clearly President Yoon moving the chair.”
On the 20th, the President’s Office also released a scene where Grandmother Park put President Yoon’s hand on her cheek through YouTube’Shorts’.
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https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HSl5HmuNruk
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In the video, President Yoon said in a trembling voice, “When our compatriots were bombarded with atomic bombs, we were in a colonial state, liberated, and then became independent. You are all suffering and suffering in a foreign country, but the government and state of the Republic of Korea were not by your side.” He continued, “Everyone, you have suffered a lot, and on behalf of the government, I really apologize once again for not being able to be with you when you were in difficulties.”
On the same day, President Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida paid their respects together at the memorial stone for Korean atomic bomb victims located in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on the 21st. This is the first time that the two leaders of Korea and Japan have jointly paid tribute to a memorial stone for Korean atomic bomb victims. President Yun and First Lady Kim Kun-hee, Prime Minister Kishida and First Lady Yuko stood side by side in front of the memorial stone, laid a wreath of lilies, and bowed in silence for about 10 seconds to commemorate the Korean atomic bomb victims. Ten Korean atomic bomb victims, including Grandmother Park, second-generation atomic bomb victim Kwon Jun-oh, and chairman of the Special Committee for Korean Atomic Bomb Victims, sat in the back and watched the couple visit.
Spokesman Lee Do-woon said at a briefing at the Hiroshima Press Center, “It means that the two leaders are facing the painful past of Korea-Japan relations and working together to heal it.” We are supporting it,” he said. “It also includes the meaning that the two leaders and the two countries will jointly respond together with their ally, the United States, to the nuclear threat in Northeast Asia and the international community,” he explained.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.