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The forgotten suffering of Korean atomic bomb survivors

Depending on their extent of radiation exposure, many A-bomb survivors became infertile. If they have children, their sickness sometimes caused health problems with their offspring.

Sufferings still linger for Korean A-bomb survivors, Aug 09, 2010The Korea Herald/Asia News Network “…..Some 200,000 people were killed or died within three months when the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs in Japan, first in Hiroshima and three days later in Nagasaki. Of them, about 40,000 were Koreans.

During the Korean ceremony, however, no high-profile guests or government officials were seen in attendance.

The brief event, held out of the nation’s only sanatorium for the survivors, was sometimes interrupted by rainfall, with the attendants, mostly the victims’ relatives and villagers, dashing under trees for cover.

Korean A-bomb victims and their children in this village still suffer from the decades-old neglect…………

A Hiroshima in Korea

According to the Korea Atomic Bomb Casualties Association, some 2,600 people are currently registered as A-bomb survivors and more than 60 percent of them are from Hapcheon.

The Japanese colonial rule devastated the economy of this small town where most of the villagers were engaged in farming. While many were conscripted for the Japanese work force or military, some went to Japan voluntarily to find employment.

“Many Hapcheon residents used to live together in Hiroshima. That’s why there were many victims from here,” said Monk Haejin, who is running the “House for Peace,” a shelter for the second-generation A-bomb victims here.

Right after Korea’s independence from Japan on Aug. 15, 1945, the Korean survivors in Hiroshima were expelled to their hometown. Of the village’s 53,000 residents, some 650 are A-bomb survivors, the highest concentration across the nation.

Depending on their extent of radiation exposure, many A-bomb survivors became infertile. If they have children, their sickness sometimes caused health problems with their offspring.

Sufferings still linger for Korean A-bomb survivors

August 10, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | South Korea, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors