[Speech]Gok-ji Lee: The first generation of Korean A-bomb victim
The first generation of Korean A-bomb victim:
Gok-ji Lee / Bong-dae Kim(her husband)
My wife is Lee Gok-ji, a first-generation Korean atomic bomb victim. My son is Kim Hyeong-ryul, a second-generation Korean atomic bomb victim who died young from the hereditary aftereffects of the atomic bomb. My family suffered greatly from the atomic bomb throughout their entire lives. Today, on behalf of my wife, Lee Gok-ji, I’d like to tell you her story.
I, Lee Gok-ji, was born in Hiroshima in 1940. Due to the constant natural disasters and economic difficulties in Korea, my father moved to Hiroshima first and settled there, and later the rest of my family moved from Hapcheon to Hiroshima together.
On August 6, 1945, a strong wind suddenly caused our house to collapse. Located in Funairigawaguchi-cho, only 3 kilometers away from the epicenter, the house could not withstand the effects of the atomic bomb. Debris from the building struck my 8-year-old sister, who died on the spot. My father, who was working at a public bathhouse at the time, also lost his life to the atomic bomb.
I followed my mother and sister outside to see a pitch black sky and ground. It was as if the entire city of Hiroshima had turned to ash. Several people lied before me in an open field; many were dead, some were alive but their whole bodies were burned, and some were only burnt at the feet.
I was so scared that I ran away, clutching the hands of my mother and sister. I eventually found and picked up some rice balls on the ground along a stream. Although they were covered in black ash, we were so hungry that we ate them.
After liberation from Japan, the rest of the family returned to Hapcheon, my parents’ hometown, but life became even harder. I had a wealthy relative living nearby, but I didn’t receive any help. My mother was ignored because she had no husband or son. My mother’s health deteriorated as time went on, and she passed away 10 years after the bombing. My sister and I both suffered from skin diseases since the bombing. I lived my whole life in pain and suffering due to lumbar tumors and osteoporosis.
I got married in my early twenties. I had three sons and two daughters. My youngest son, Kim Hyung-ryul, passed away at the age of 34 from the hereditary aftereffects of the atomic bomb.
Hyeongryul suffered from pneumonia frequently since he was young, with routine visits to the hospital. He had to give up on going to high school because of his illness. Because of his frequent hospitalization from pneumonia, his doctor suggested doing a special blood test. The results led to his diagnosis of congenital immunoglobulin deficiency, a rare and incurable disease. Since his lung function was only 30% of that of a normal person, he had difficulty climbing stairs. If he was exposed to cigarette smoke or dirty air, he would cough nonstop and have difficulty breathing for more than 40 minutes.
Hyeongryul learned that the pain that had tormented him his entire life was because of the United States dropping the atomic bomb in 1945. He went public and revealed that he was a second-generation atomic bomb victim, and devoted all his energy to making the world aware of the issues regarding second-generation atomic bomb victims.
Hyeongryul emphasized that the historical roots of the human rights issues faced by Korean atomic bomb victims lie in the colonial rule of Japanese imperialism, and also with the United States, which used inhumane nuclear weapons. He cried out, spitting blood especially at the United States, that an apology and compensation must follow for its mass-murder of civilians. He appeal ed to everyone from the bottom of his heart to work together to prevent the nuclear threat from ever existing on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.
It was only after Hyeong-ryul passed away that a special law was enacted in Korea to support atomic bomb victims, but the second generation of atomic bomb victims were not included. None of the governments of Korea, the United States, and Japan recognize the hereditary effects of the atomic bomb. Not recognizing the hereditary effects of the atomic bomb is an attempt to avoid responsibility for the use of nuclear weapons.
Even now, Korean victims of the atomic bomb and their children are forced to lead lives in which their human rights are continuously violated due to the various aftereffects of the atomic bombs. We demand legal responsibility, an apology, and compensation from the United States, which committed inhumane war crimes. This is my demand and the earnest wish of my son, Hyeongryul, who passed away before me.
I, Kim Bong-dae, as the husband and the father of atomic bomb victims, have traveled across Korea and Japan alongside Hyung-rul to organize support for, the human rights of the second generation of atomic bomb victims, and to campaign for the enactment of special laws protecting them. In 2015, I even held a one-man protest in the lobby of the UN conference hall demanding an apology from the United States.
My son is still alive in my heart. My wife cannot speak for herself, but I can shout out on her behalf. The United States must accept responsibility for dropping nuclear weapons. The American government must recognize the hereditary nature of the irreparable damage of the atomic bomb. These actions must be taken in order to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula and around the world without the threat of nuclear war. On behalf of my son and my wife, I will do my best to do this work together with the Korean atomic bomb victims until the day I die.
Part-1: On August 6, 1945, the situation at the time
The first generation of Korean A-bomb victim:
Gok-ji Lee / Bong-dae Kim(her husband)
My wife is Lee Gok-ji, a first-generation Korean atomic bomb victim. My son is Kim Hyeong-ryul, a second-generation Korean atomic bomb victim who died young from the hereditary aftereffects of the atomic bomb. My family suffered greatly from the atomic bomb throughout their entire lives. Today, on behalf of my wife, Lee Gok-ji, I’d like to tell you her story.
I, Lee Gok-ji, was born in Hiroshima in 1940. Due to the constant natural disasters and economic difficulties in Korea, my father moved to Hiroshima first and settled there, and later the rest of my family moved from Hapcheon to Hiroshima together.
On August 6, 1945, a strong wind suddenly caused our house to collapse. Located in Funairigawaguchi-cho, only 3 kilometers away from the epicenter, the house could not withstand the effects of the atomic bomb. Debris from the building struck my 8-year-old sister, who died on the spot. My father, who was working at a public bathhouse at the time, also lost his life to the atomic bomb.
I followed my mother and sister outside to see a pitch black sky and ground. It was as if the entire city of Hiroshima had turned to ash. Several people lied before me in an open field; many were dead, some were alive but their whole bodies were burned, and some were only burnt at the feet.
I was so scared that I ran away, clutching the hands of my mother and sister. I eventually found and picked up some rice balls on the ground along a stream. Although they were covered in black ash, we were so hungry that we ate them.
After liberation from Japan, the rest of the family returned to Hapcheon, my parents’ hometown, but life became even harder. I had a wealthy relative living nearby, but I didn’t receive any help. My mother was ignored because she had no husband or son. My mother’s health deteriorated as time went on, and she passed away 10 years after the bombing. My sister and I both suffered from skin diseases since the bombing. I lived my whole life in pain and suffering due to lumbar tumors and osteoporosis.
I got married in my early twenties. I had three sons and two daughters. My youngest son, Kim Hyung-ryul, passed away at the age of 34 from the hereditary aftereffects of the atomic bomb.
Hyeongryul suffered from pneumonia frequently since he was young, with routine visits to the hospital. He had to give up on going to high school because of his illness. Because of his frequent hospitalization from pneumonia, his doctor suggested doing a special blood test. The results led to his diagnosis of congenital immunoglobulin deficiency, a rare and incurable disease. Since his lung function was only 30% of that of a normal person, he had difficulty climbing stairs. If he was exposed to cigarette smoke or dirty air, he would cough nonstop and have difficulty breathing for more than 40 minutes.
Hyeongryul learned that the pain that had tormented him his entire life was because of the United States dropping the atomic bomb in 1945. He went public and revealed that he was a second-generation atomic bomb victim, and devoted all his energy to making the world aware of the issues regarding second-generation atomic bomb victims.
Hyeongryul emphasized that the historical roots of the human rights issues faced by Korean atomic bomb victims lie in the colonial rule of Japanese imperialism, and also with the United States, which used inhumane nuclear weapons. He cried out, spitting blood especially at the United States, that an apology and compensation must follow for its mass-murder of civilians. He appeal ed to everyone from the bottom of his heart to work together to prevent the nuclear threat from ever existing on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.
It was only after Hyeong-ryul passed away that a special law was enacted in Korea to support atomic bomb victims, but the second generation of atomic bomb victims were not included. None of the governments of Korea, the United States, and Japan recognize the hereditary effects of the atomic bomb. Not recognizing the hereditary effects of the atomic bomb is an attempt to avoid responsibility for the use of nuclear weapons.
Even now, Korean victims of the atomic bomb and their children are forced to lead lives in which their human rights are continuously violated due to the various aftereffects of the atomic bombs. We demand legal responsibility, an apology, and compensation from the United States, which committed inhumane war crimes. This is my demand and the earnest wish of my son, Hyeongryul, who passed away before me.
I, Kim Bong-dae, as the husband and the father of atomic bomb victims, have traveled across Korea and Japan alongside Hyung-rul to organize support for, the human rights of the second generation of atomic bomb victims, and to campaign for the enactment of special laws protecting them. In 2015, I even held a one-man protest in the lobby of the UN conference hall demanding an apology from the United States.
My son is still alive in my heart. My wife cannot speak for herself, but I can shout out on her behalf. The United States must accept responsibility for dropping nuclear weapons. The American government must recognize the hereditary nature of the irreparable damage of the atomic bomb. These actions must be taken in order to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula and around the world without the threat of nuclear war. On behalf of my son and my wife, I will do my best to do this work together with the Korean atomic bomb victims until the day I die.
Part-1: On August 6, 1945, the situation at the time
Part-2: Life after returning to Korea
Part-3: Damage to her's children
Part-4: We urge the United States