Centennial Memorial Held for Kaneko Fumiko, Japanese Independence Activist and Comrade of Park Yeol

A memorial service was held on July 23rd at the Mungyeong Cultural Center in Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Kaneko Fumiko, a Japanese independence activist and associate of Park Yeol. The event was organized by the Park Yeol Society.

Attended by approximately 200 people, including Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kwon Oh-eul, various dignitaries, and descendants of independence activists, the ceremony featured memorial speeches and the recitation of poems. Kaneko Fumiko, born in Yokohama, Japan, in 1903, actively resisted Japanese imperialism and the imperial system alongside her husband, the anarchist independence activist Park Yeol.

Following the massacre of Koreans after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, she and Park Yeol were arrested for allegedly attempting to assassinate the Emperor and high-ranking officials by bringing a bomb into Tokyo. They were initially sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment. Kaneko Fumiko died in prison at the age of 23 in 1926, and her remains were buried in Mungyeong, her husband's hometown.

In 2018, she was officially recognized as an independence activist and posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation, the Patriotic Medal. She is remembered as a figure who fought against power and discrimination throughout her life, pursuing human freedom and equality. Minister Kwon Oh-eul stated, "Kaneko Fumiko was a person who dedicated her life to justice and freedom beyond nationality and ethnicity." He expressed hope that the memorial service would serve as a meaningful occasion to share the values of peace and human rights with the public and future generations.

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Kaneko Fumiko was a person who dedicated her life to justice and freedom beyond nationality and ethnicity. I hope this memorial service serves as a meaningful occasion to share the values of peace and human rights with the public and future generations.