A group of Japanese citizens are putting together their effort to build a memorial monument for a Korean poet, who was well-known for his "resistance poems" against the forceful Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century, Dong-A Ilbo reported Saturday.
Poet Yoon Dong-joo died in a Japanese prison at the age of 28 in 1945, after being arrested for his involvement in the underground resistance movement against the Japanese occupiers.
In South Korea, Yoon was often voted as the nation's most favorite poet in various polls.
A Japanese civil organization in Kyoto, "the Committee of Establishing a Memorial Monument for Poet Yoon Dong-joo," has been pushing forward to build a memorial monument. The group is composed of ordinary Japanese citizens who love the poems of the late Yoon. Yoon attended Doshisha University in Kyoto.
When the local government didn't approve the plan, the group went out to the street and started to collect signatures from people since April this year. It has already collected 6,300 signatures.
"We are a group of people who love Yoon's poems and deplore the tragic history that pushed Yoon to death. Such kind of history shouldn't be repeated," said Kontani Nobuko, an official of the organization.
The committee received various donations and already made a memorial moment for Yoon that can be ready when it would receive approval from the local authorities. The monument also includes a poem of Yoon, "A New Road."
"Soon, the number of signatories will surpass 10,000. The government is carefully assessing the situation. But I expect it will eventually approve the plan," said Nobuko.