Today (15th) is the 77th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender, and it is also South Korea's "Guangdong Day". According to Yonhap News Agency, yesterday (14th), a South Korean taekwondo group held a performance of "violently beating" japanese troops outside the history museum of the Seodaemun Penal Office in Seoul.
Unless otherwise noted, the figures in this article are from the East Asia Daily
Seodaemun Penal Office is the earliest modern prison in Korea established by Japan, where many Korean independence activists died during the Japanese occupation. After Japan's surrender, the South Korean government made it a historical museum of the Penitentiary. On the eve of The Coming of The Coming, yesterday, in front of the large Taiji flag hanging on the façade of the Historical Temple, a Korean extreme taekwondo team performed a public performance with the theme of "Independence Movement".
The name of the performance is "If Liu Kuanshun goes to practice taekwondo...", which tells the story of the martyrs of the Independence Movement who defeated each other through taekwondo after being suppressed by the Japanese army. (Observer's note: Yoo Kwan-soon, a South Korean independence activist who died at the age of 18, posthumously awarded him the "Republic of Korea Medal of the Founding Medal" in 2019. ）
After the performance began, japanese soldiers wearing black masks walked up to the unarmed Korean independence activists holding tai chi flags with sticks and inflicted atrocities on them.
Subsequently, the "martyrs" appeared, the situation on the field was quickly reversed, they "violently beat" the Japanese army, not to mention, the pine board painted with the Japanese rising sun flag was also kicked and shattered by taekwondo practitioners who looked very much like the martyr Liu Kuanshun.
At the end of the performance, taekwondo practitioners held aloft the Tai Chi flag with both hands, revealing a "victorious" look.
Pictured by Yonhap News Agency
Dongya Daily said that many citizens at the scene watched the performance and clapped their hands to applaud, on that day, the weather in Seoul was extremely hot, but just seeing this picture was enough to cool off; Yonhap News Agency described the performance as "a street performance of independence from Japanese colonial rule and a demonstration of people's patriotic enthusiasm." ”
According to Seoul News, this morning (15th), a group of elementary school students in Seoul also performed taekwondo here.
Early in the morning, in the Pushingaku area of Seoul's Jongno-gu, many Seoul citizens and students also marched with Tai Chi flags to celebrate the 77th anniversary of the restoration; At Seoul's Gwanghwamun station, tens of thousands of protesters held not only the South Korean flag, but also the American flag, chanting "Freedom and unity."
According to another report by Yonhap News Agency, today, the ROK Foreign Ministry made a comment in the name of a spokesman, expressing deep regret that senior Japanese officials visited the Yasukuni Shrine to enshrine Class-A war criminals on South Korea's Comeback Day and Japan's surrender day. The commentary pointed out that the ROK Government is deeply disappointed and regretful that the Japanese Cabinet and the leading body of the National Diet have once again visited the shrine and beautified the war of aggression against foreign countries and enshrined sacrifices at the Yasukuni Shrine, which is dedicated to Class-A war criminals, and urged the Japanese side to face history squarely, humbly examine its mistakes, and show its sincerity in reflecting on it with practical actions.
In the morning, South Korean President Yoon Seok-wook attended the "Commemoration Ceremony for the 77th Anniversary of the Restoration" and pointed out in a speech, "In the past, in order to fight for and defend freedom, we wanted to get rid of Japanese political rule. Japan is now our closest neighbor in a way that should work together to address challenges that threaten global civil liberties. Only when South Korea and Japan face the future based on universal values and move toward shouldering the mission entrusted by the times can the historical problems between the two countries be properly resolved. The Government will carry forward the spirit of the "Joint Declaration on the Rok-Japan New Partnership for the 21st Century" jointly issued by former ROK President Kim Dae-jung and former Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi to restore and develop ROK-Japan relations as soon as possible. In the spirit of mutual respect, the governments and peoples of the two countries should carry out extensive cooperation and exchanges in the economy, security, society and culture, so as to contribute to the peace and prosperity of the international community. ”
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