A Korean Woman’s Perspective on August 6, 1945 in Nagasaki

It’s the anniversary of a moral atrocity, around which ethical rationalizations perennially swirl. What one Korean woman thinks is nut that remarkable, But, the record of past prejudices should be burned indelibly in our memories.

Born in South Korea’s North Gyeongsang Province, Kwon came to Japan around 1930.

She was only 19 years old and happened to be at a construction company where her husband was employed about 1.8 kilometers away from the bomb’s hypocenter in the neighborhood of Inasamachi, Nagasaki, when the bomb exploded.

She heard an ear-splitting explosion. Outside, she saw processions of people with burned faces walking around. The bodies of her colleagues working closer to the center of the bomb blast, were never found, she said.

She recalled the days when goods were short in supply. She and her colleagues managed to find apples and other small things placed as offerings on a desk that was used as an altar.

Another atomic bomb survivor, who returned to South Korea after the end of World War II, told Kwon of being accused of “transmitting radioactivity to others.”

Kwon said many people in South Korea think the atomic bombing set the Korean Peninsula free from Japanese colonial rule and they have little interest in atomic bomb victims and their situation.

After meeting with Ban, Kwon said: “South Korean atomic bomb victims have been fighting all their lives. When thinking of the past, I have nothing to say. I’m so happy [that I was able to meet Ban.]“

According to the Nagasaki municipal government, the number of Koreans who were affected by the atomic bomb is estimated at between 12,000 and 13,000, and the number of those who died is estimated at between 1,400 and 2,000.

After returning to South Korea for a period of time, Kwon returned to Japan and earned her living by selling scrap metal.

She opened a Korean barbecue restaurant in 1963, which she now operates with her younger sister’s family.

“I hate the atomic bomb and any war. For my fellow Koreans who lost their lives for no reason and for all the people around the world, I hope Mr. Ban will realize the abolition of nuclear weapons,” she said.

I never forget that August 6 was the day a grave mistake was committed.


Filed under: East Asia, Korea, WMD Tagged: atomic bomb, japan, nagasaki, world war 2