Those Who Chose to Return
to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Date of completion
December 14, 1959
Established by
Korean returnees in Hiroshima Prefecture
Shape
The clock (approx. 5 m high), mounted atop a pole is set up on a concrete footstone (20 cm high, 71 cm wide, 70 cm deep).
Motive for the erection
The clock commemorates the return of North Korean residents to their home country, leaving on the soil of Japan this symbol of friendship between North Korea and Japan, and expressing their wish for peace.
Noteworthy characteristics- Agreement between the Japanese and North Korean Red Cross Societies on the return of North Korean Residents to their home country.
- Leaving port for their home country
- Symbol of friendship between North Korea and Japan
On August 13, 1959, the North Korean residents' agreement to return to their home country was signed by representatives from the Japanese and North Korean Red Cross Societies. The agreement paved the way for North Korean residents to return their home country. (The agreement, valid for 15 months, applied only to persons who expressed the will to return their home country).
On December 14, 1959, the first ship left Niigata Port for North Korea. Returnees in Hiroshima Prefecture departed from Hiroshima Station and left Niigata Port for their home country, North Korea, on December 17 (via the second ship with 56 returnees on board) and December 24 (via the third ship with 23 returnees on board).
The clock tower, constructed at a cost of approximately 200,000 yen, was funded by the public, especially North Koreans who had returned their home country, in their desire to "leave a symbol of friendship between North Korea and Japan on the soil of Japan." The clock was donated to Hiroshima City.
Originally located in the south green belt of the City Auditorium (present-day International Conference Center Hiroshima), the clock tower was relocated to its current location with the construction of Peace Memorial Park.