Jeonju City Leads Efforts to Eradicate Japanese Colonial Remnants, Including Installation of Punishment Monument for Gimhaegang River

Unveiling Ceremony Held for Punishment Monument Erected at Deokjin Park

Kim Haegang Statue Located in Deokjin Park, Jeonju

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Tae-in] Jeonju City in Jeollabuk-do has begun efforts to eradicate remnants of Japanese colonial rule by erecting a monument condemning the pro-Japanese poet’s actions and revising official records containing Japanese names, in order to never forget the humiliation of losing national sovereignty to Japan.

On the 29th, the city held an unveiling ceremony for the ‘Kim Haegang Condemnation Monument’ at Deokjin Park, attended by about 10 members including the Jeollabuk-do branch of the Institute for Research in Collaborationist Activities (Branch Chief Kim Jae-ho) and the Jeollabuk-do branch of the Liberation Association (Branch Chief Lee Kang-an), to publicize the poet’s pro-Japanese activities on the 110th anniversary of the Gyeongsul National Humiliation Day.

On this day, the city, the Jeollabuk-do branch of the Institute for Research in Collaborationist Activities, and the Jeollabuk-do branch of the Liberation Association erected the condemnation monument next to the Kim Haegang poetry monument in Deokjin Park and read aloud the poet’s pro-Japanese activities, striving to correct the distorted history.

This is because Kim Haegang, who had long been regarded as a respected literary figure in the region for writing songs such as the ‘Song of Jeonbuk Residents’ and the ‘Song of Jeonju Citizens,’ was revealed to have written pro-Japanese works including the poem ‘The Nine Warriors Who Do Not Return,’ which praised the Japanese suicide attack units, and was thus included in the Liberation Association’s list of pro-Japanese anti-national collaborators.

In addition, the city is promoting the ‘Erasing Japanese Names from Official Records’ project to revise official documents such as land and forest registries that contain Japanese-style names.

The core of this initiative is to identify and nationalize properties belonging to Japanese individuals, Japanese companies, and those who changed their names under the Japanese colonial policy of S?shi-kaimei, which remain recorded under Japanese names in official registries. The city plans to begin an investigation of a total of 250 cases, including family registers, registry copies, and land registries, by next month.

After confirming the actual existence of land recorded in documents with S?shi-kaimei records, the city will classify the records into categories such as ▲document revision ▲S?shi-kaimei cleanup ▲parcels corresponding to public property and notify the Public Procurement Service accordingly.

Properties registered under Japanese names will have their records revised if the original names prior to S?shi-kaimei can be verified; otherwise, they will be gradually nationalized through the Public Procurement Service.

Prior to this, the city abolished the ‘Song of Jeonju Citizens’ written by Kim Haegang in March through an ordinance amendment to ensure that the humiliating history left by Japanese colonial rule is not forgotten and its remnants are eradicated.

Last year, the city changed the name of ‘Dongsan-dong,’ named after ‘Dongsan,’ the pen name of the son of the founder of the Japanese Mitsubishi company, to ‘Yeoui-dong.’

Additionally, an information plaque was installed on the stone lantern built in Japanese architectural style during the Japanese colonial period at Daga Bridge, and a condemnation monument for Lee Du-hwang, who assisted in the assassination of Empress Myeongseong, was erected at the entrance of Girinbong in Jungnosong-dong.

Kim Jae-ho, head of the Jeollabuk-do branch of the Institute for Research in Collaborationist Activities, said, “As important as erasing traces of pro-Japanese remnants is to remember and never forget historical facts. We will continue to widely inform future generations about this shameful and humiliating history to prevent its recurrence.”

A Jeonju city official stated, “To eradicate remnants of Japanese colonial rule and set history straight, we will focus administrative power through close cooperation with civic groups. We will also strive to establish a proper direction for the abolished ‘Song of Jeonju Citizens’ and announce it within this year.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.