Completed :
April 10, 1970
Established by :
The Construction Committee for Monument in Memory of the Korean Victims of the A-bomb
Noteworthy characteristics
apan took control of Korea during the Meiji
Restoration and annexed in 1910. Many Koreans who had lost their means of
livelihood were forced to come to Japan in search of work. Moreover, to
make up for the wartime labor shortage, Japan also brought many Koreans
to work in Japan through forced service or conscription. At the end of the
war, about three million Koreans were living in Japan, and it is said that
tens of thousands of them suffered the atomic bombing in Hiroshima.
The monument standing on a turtle-shaped base is engraved with the epigraph
"Souls of the dead ride to heaven on the backs of turtles." Two dragons
are sculpted into the crown set on top of the obelisk.
The monument was erected at the western end of Honkawa Bridge because it
is near the place where the body of Prince Lee ( a member of the royal family)
was found after the bombing. Since then, pressure has intensified from various
quarters to move the monument inside Peace Memorial Park. After an agreement
was reached between Hiroshima City and all concerned parties, it was moved
into the park in July 1999.