Memoir of the A-bombing;
Surviving Hiroshima as a Korean Resident in Japan
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by Park Namjoo
Atomic Bomb Witness for this Foundation
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Student mobilization and life during wartime as a subject of Japan
My parents came from Korea to Japan during the war.
They lived relatively well, and I went on from elementary school to a girls' school.
The Pacific War broke out when I was in elementary school, and when I was at the girls' school, students were mobilized to grow vegetables, and demolish buildings (pulling down buildings so that fires would not spread), and as a result there was little time to study.
Pencils and the like were rationed out, but all we could think was that we wanted to do our best to help Japan win.
8/6, that fateful day
I was going to a girls' school, but on August 6 I happened to have a slight injury and stayed home from school.
I was on a streetcar with my younger brother and sister traveling from Fukushima Town.
At around 1.9km from the hypocenter, I heard a faint boom of the B29 heavy bomber, and at the same time a great flash of light and sound, and a huge ball of flame enveloped the streetcar.
Uninjured, I jumped off and the next thing I knew I was grabbing my brother's and sister's hands.
We walked past people bleeding from various parts of their bodies as we headed for home.
When we climbed the banks of the river, the city of Hiroshima had truly disappeared.
Many people were fleeing from the central part of the city, and it was unspeakable, a horrifying sight.
My parents had been in Fukushima Town when the bomb was dropped, but they returned home in one piece.
After a while, black rain like oil started falling.
We ran through the rain to the mountain in Koi together with our neighbors.
Once night fell, we could see the city of Hiroshima burning bright red, as if it would scorch the sky.
Some of our neighbors were mobilized as students on August 6, and not one of them came home alive.
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"A-bomb drawings by survivors" by Giso Shimomura
Seen from the hills of Koi, Hiroshima was a burning, burning hell of flames.
Approx. 3km from the hypocenter (August 6, 1945, night)
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The next morning, the surrounding area was so horrible that even the term "disastrous scene" does not describe it.
The wounds of living people were filled with maggots, and people were cremating the corpses of people whose whole bodies were swollen up and whose eyeballs were popping out.
Children were helping.
The wound on my head started festering and became sticky, but I do not remember any pain.
The only thing I clearly recall is a fear that maggots would come.
Struggling to survive after the war
When I heard that the war was over, I was so happy that there would be no more air raids by those horrible B29 planes.
After the war, for some reason my father stopped working, saying that he felt sluggish, and so the rest of the family did any work we could to make ends meet.
I learned later that my father had liver cancer.
Encouraged by the next generation－sending a message to the future
The reason that I started atomic bombing testimony activities was that in May 2002, I was approached, coincidentally, by three elementary school students from Osaka, and I spoke to them about my experiences.
Those children made a presentation about my story at parents' day at the school, and sent me a thank you note, telling me that when they gave their presentation there were some mothers who shed tears.
Every time I speak about my experiences I tell the children,
"Although I have been bullied because I am Korean, I have received much more kindness and affection than cruel words, and that has helped me to forget the bullying and hatred. Kindness and affection are truly much more important than bullying".
The atomic bomb kills people before they have a chance to call out for help.
War means people killing each other, so whether you win or lose, many people die, many people are injured.
This is why there must be no war, and no use of nuclear weapons.
I want to communicate this to the next generation.
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Profile [Park Namjoo]
Born in Hiroshima City in 1932.
Parents came to Japan from Jinju city, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.
Was riding in a streetcar 1900m from the hypocenter with two siblings when the bomb was dropped.
Has continued with atomic bombing testimony activities since 2003.
From 2005, involved for three years in Japan-Korea exchange and peace activities as the chairperson of the Hiroshima Branch Women's Association of Mindan (Korean Residents Union in Japan).
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