For those of you who don’t know, yes there were in fact Korean Kamikaze pilots during WWII. There were in fact 18 confirmed and probably more.
The actress Fukumi Kuroda is leading the charge (and footing most of the bill) to set-up a monument to Kamikaze pilot Tak Kyung-hyun in his hometown of Sacheon. It’s actually been built, it has been covered in tarp, and is waiting to be unveiled, but other residents have blocked it.
Per the article:
“He was a kamikaze, an aggressor,” said Lee Sun-bok, head of a group opposed to the memorial…
But Hong Jong-pil, a South Korean historian working on the memorial project, said the pilots should be seen as victims of the colonial period. He cited recent studies finding they did not volunteer for their suicide missions but were pressured or forced.
Interestingly, Kuroda (who speaks fluent Korean) said she pushed for the memorial for the following reason:
The project’s driving force is a Japanese actress who has long sought to foster friendship between Korea and her country.
“I’m not beautifying kamikazes. I’m doing this for war victims,” said Kuroda, who flew to Sacheon Thursday to meet city officials and the activists. “I’m confident I can persuade them.”
It’s an AP article, which you can read here or here.
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