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Opening of Korean freedom fighter's memorial in Japan postponed due to right-wing nationalist backlash

Published: 31 Mar. 2025, 22:02

YOON SO-YEON
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A bust of independence fighter Yun Bong-gil set up in a memorial in Shanghai [YONHAP]

A memorial to Korean independence fighter Yun Bong-gil (1908-1932) set to open in Japan on April 29 has postponed its inauguration after facing a backlash from local right-wing nationalists.

According to documentary producer Kim Gwang-man, who has been preparing the memorial in partnership with local civic groups and ethnic Koreans living in Japan, the news was met with a severe backlash ever since they announced earlier this year that a Yun Bong-gil memorial would be established in a building in Kanazawa in Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture.

The producer, along with civic groups, purchased a three-story building in Kanazawa and prepared to reopen it as a memorial space for the independence activist.

Right-wing nationalists opposing the memorial set up fences around the building, and around 70 cars drove around the location with loud music, according to an article in the Sankei Shimbun on Monday.

The nationalists reportedly called Yun a "terrorist."

A memorial ceremony of independence fighter Yun Bong-gil held on April 29, 2023, in southern Seoul [YONHAP]

"We will postpone the opening day and make thorough preparations," Kim told Yonhap in a phone call.

"We could set another important day, but it would only allow right-wing forces to attack us."

Yun killed several Japanese dignitaries by setting off a bomb during an Imperial Japanese Army ceremony celebrating the birthday of Emperor Hirohito at what is now Lu Xun Park in Shanghai on April 29, 1932.

He was executed by a firing squad in Kanazawa on Dec. 19 of that year. He was 24 years old.

BY YOON SO-YEON [[email protected]]