Korean atomic bomb survivors to testify at UN, demand recognition as true victims

The Hankyoreh shines a light on the often-overlooked suffering of Korean victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The article features testimonies from survivors and second-generation victims who are traveling to the United States to share their stories on an international stage, including at the UN NPT Review Conference.

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Japan waged war against the United States and was hit by atomic bombs in the process. Therefore, Japan is not the real victim. The real victims of the atomic bombs are the Koreans who were taken to Japan and exposed to the bombs. However, our people do not even know this fact, so how can foreigners know?

Sim Jin-tae, an 83-year-old survivor who was in Hiroshima during the bombings, emphasizes that Koreans forcibly taken to Japan and exposed to the atomic bombs are the true victims, not Japan itself. He expresses frustration that neither the US nor Japan has apologized or compensated these victims, and questions the sovereignty of a South Korean government perceived as deferring to the US and Japan. His journey to the US is a final, determined effort to make their plight known.

Han Jeong-soon, a second-generation victim whose parents were exposed in Hiroshima, shares the devastating intergenerational health consequences. She recounts how her older brother, conceived during the bombing, died in infancy, and how she and her siblings, as well as her own children and nephews, suffer from conditions like strokes and heart disease attributed to their parents' exposure. Her mother's guilt and silence about the bombings further compounded the trauma.

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This is my last chance to live, and I will do everything in my power to inform the international community about the reality of the atomic bomb damage in Korea.

The article details the legal and social struggles faced by Korean atomic bomb survivors. Despite the passage of a special law in 2016, it only covers direct survivors and those conceived at the time of the bombings, excluding many descendants suffering from hereditary effects due to the lack of definitive scientific proof of genetic transmission. The region of Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province, is highlighted as having the most significant number of victims, earning it the moniker 'Korea's Hiroshima.'

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Did the United States apologize? Did it compensate? Did Japan apologize? What has our government done? It's watching the US, watching Japan. What kind of independent nation is this?

This initiative by Korean survivors and advocacy groups aims to rectify the historical narrative, which has largely ignored their suffering amidst the broader context of Japanese colonialism, forced labor, and the US atomic bombings. By speaking at universities and participating in anti-nuclear peace rallies in the US, they seek to pressure the US for an apology and compensation, and to ensure that the world recognizes the full extent of the human cost of the atomic bombings.

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My parents both suffered from after-effects. My older brother, who was in my mother's womb at the time of the bombing, died as an infant for unknown reasons. My parents had two sons and four daughters after returning to Korea, and all of them suffered from after-effects such as stroke, heart disease, and avascular necrosis of the femoral head from a young age. My third-generation son and nephews are also suffering from after-effects such as stroke.