HAPCHEON, South Korea – Even 80 years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, many Korean survivors are still living in silence, fear, and pain.
One of them is Bae, now 85 years old. She was just a child when the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. She remembers hearing planes in the sky and telling her mother in Japanese, “Mom! There are airplanes!” Minutes later, their house collapsed. The debris saved her from the deadly burns, but many of her relatives died, including her aunt and uncle.
After the war, Bae’s family returned to Korea. Like many other ethnic Koreans, they kept their experience a secret. People feared being judged for working in Japan during its colonization of Korea. Some also wrongly believed that radiation sickness was contagious.
“I never told my husband I was a bombing survivor,” said Bae. She also hid the truth from her sons until she registered at a special center for atomic bomb victims in Hapcheon, South Korea, in 1996.
Many Korean survivors suffer from cancer and other illnesses caused by radiation. Bae had to remove her ovaries and one breast. She worried that her children might inherit health problems, so she stayed silent.
Thousands of Korean Victims
Around 740,000 people were killed or injured in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. More than 10% were Korean, many of them forced to work in Japan during its rule over Korea.
After the war, Korean survivors faced discrimination in Japan, both for being Korean and for being “hibakusha” — a term for atomic bomb survivors. In Japan, they were often given the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs.
For decades, Korean victims did not even have a memorial in Hiroshima. It was not until the late 1990s that a monument was added to the Hiroshima Peace Park.
Memories of a Burning City
Kim Hwa-ja, who was four at the time of the bombing, remembers escaping the burning city with her family. She was hiding under a blanket on a horse cart as smoke filled the air. Her mother kept yelling, “Don’t look!”
It is estimated that up to 50,000 Koreans were in Hiroshima on the day of the bombing. Many were forced laborers at military factories.
But clear records are hard to find, because the city’s records were destroyed and Korean names were banned under Japanese rule.
Survivors Still Struggling
Today, there are about 1,600 Korean survivors still alive, according to the Hapcheon Atomic Bomb Victim Center. Only 82 live in the center itself. A special law passed in 2016 gives survivors a monthly payment of around $72. However, their children and grandchildren do not receive any support, even though many suffer from birth defects or health problems.
“We must help the next generations too,” said Jeong Soo-won, director of the center.
Forgotten by the World
Survivors feel that the world has not learned from their pain. Last year, a Japanese hibakusha group won the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to raise awareness about nuclear war.
But some survivors are upset by recent comments, like when former U.S. President Donald Trump compared attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites to the Hiroshima bombing.
“Does he understand what happened in Hiroshima?” asked survivor Kim Gin-ho.
On August 6, the Hapcheon center will hold a memorial event. Survivors hope that this year, more people will pay attention to their stories — not just with words, but with real support.
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