History and condition of Korean atomic victims

Bae Jungmin

On August 6 and 9 of 1945, atomic bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  It resulted in fifty thousand Korean victims in Hiroshima and twenty thousand in ! Nagasaki. In each city, thirty and ten thousand Koreans were killed on the spot. These number of damaged Koreans by atomic bomb make up about 10% of the total number of victims, because many Koreans who could not tolerant miserable lives under the Japan’s colonial takeover of Korea emigrated to those cities to earn a livelihood, or some were forcibly sent to Japan through Japan’s compulsive conscription policy since 1940s.

As many Koreans lived in the poorer downtown neighborhoods near the hypocenter, overcrowded emergency hospitals frequently discriminated Koreans. Even worse, they continued to suffer by being residents in the contaminated area, since most of them had no relatives in other regions. In spite of that condition, they had no choice but to come back to Korea after the liberation, using small private boats without any help.  Moreover, Korean War broken out right after their entrance to homeland and most of Koreans who had little knowledge concerning disease caused by atomic bomb gave the atomic victims much more anguish.

In the mean time in Japan, anti-atomic bomb movement spread out with victims attacked by Hydrogen bomb tests on Bikini Island in 1954, and was reaching its momentum. Along with that movement, the Japanese government had no choice but to enact and amend a law named A-Bomb Victim Medical Care Law in 1957 and 1968, each to help atomic victims become eligible for state-funded medical checkup and treatment.

Japan-ROK Basic Treaty signed in 1965 did not meet the Korean atomic victims’ expectation, as the problem of compensation claims against Japan was settled but no provisions were shown in the treaty concerning compensation for Korean atomic victims.  Korean atomic victims who were deeply disappointed got into action through the Association of Korean Atomic Bomb Victims founded in 1966.

Son Jin-doo ruling of 1970s was a landmark occurrence as it established a new precedent that allowed Korean atomic victims to gain special passes for the atomic victims.  After 7 years of court battle, he acquired the pass with treatment guarantee supported by Japanese government.  Ministry of Health and Welfare Bureau, however, set limits for the support to foreigners living in Japan through their notification No. 402.

Because of the movement claiming compensation of both countries, the Japanese government reluctantly allowed Korean atomic victims to get treatment in Japan from 1980.  However, they were not paid for their travel expenses. Even though 20 thousand more atomic victims were living in Korea, only 351 people were covered by this program, and even that program terminated in! November 1986.

Since 1989, the Korean government operated medical service support for the atomic victims in Korea under the circumstance that they do not get any support from the Japanese government, even though it is still insufficient to them.  Meanwhile, the Korean victim’s organization strongly requested 23 hundred million dollars which was calculated based on the compensation paid to the Japanese victims up to 1987. That movement was activated around President Roh Tae Woo's visit to Japan in 1988.  However, Japan tried to complete their compensation within giving just a small amount of money in value of 400 million yen, which was a one-sided decision, and named it so-called a humanitarian aid.

As Kwak Kwi Hoon won the lawsuit for the qualification of foreigners for the relief in the Osaka and Hiroshima High Court, allowance and medical service has been given to Koreans supported by the relief law since March 2003. But the scale and the current condition of atomic victim in Korea are not completely ascertained. Furthermore, 800 people among 2,300 member of the Association of South Korean Atomic Bomb Victims are out of benefit now.

According to the assumption of the association, about 23,000 atomic victims came back to Korea among 30,000 who survived after the bombing. National Human Rights Commission reported that currently there are 2,300 people who were directly damaged by the atomic bomb and 7,500 people of the second-generation atomic victims in Korea.  They are living under bad health condition and being neglected from the society. In the first generation, the outbreak rate of diseases such as hypochondria, cancer, anemia and schizophrenia was dozens of times higher than usual. In case of second generation, their outbreak rate of diseases such as anemia, hypochondria, heart attack and asthma was relatively high.

Now a the only facility supporting the atomic victims is the Hapcheon Atomic Victim Welfare Center, and the atomic victim fund mainly established by the 400 million yen that Japanese government provided after 1990 is also about to be depleted, which highly demands a new countermeasure.

In addition to that, there are about two thousand atomic victims in North Korea, but nothing further about their situation is known. In regards to the compensation, they have much difficulty as diplomatic relationship between North Korea and Japan is not normalized.  Moreover, Japan does not trust North Korea government regarding the use of compensation fund, since the country is suffering from an economic crisis.