Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Canadian school takes down 'Rising Sun' flag after student petition
Japan's "Rising Sun" flag in a classroom. Many people in Korea and other Asian countries think it is equivalent to the Nazi flag. Change.org
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
A Canadian school has removed a “Rising Sun” flag ― an emblem seen by many Asians as a symbol of the country's wartime aggression ― from a history classroom after students complained about it.
Walnut Grove Secondary School in Langley, British Columbia,
took down the flag on Tuesday (KST) after an
against it garnered nearly 10,000 signatures.
A Korean student, surnamed Moon, who posted the petition on the website Change.org, Sunday, said the flag was “extremely offensive” to many students from Asian countries as it reminded them of Japan's war crimes, such as the sexual enslavement of tens of thousands of young women.
School board spokesman Ken Hoff said officials decided to take down the flag temporarily ahead of a discussion between them and the students who found it offensive.
“It's a little unfortunate that this was taken out of context,” Hoff was quoted as saying. “The flag is being actively used as a teaching tool … you can't start editing and censoring history.”
Hoff said the person who pinned the flag to the classroom wall is a “well-respected history teacher” and he only did so for educational purposes.
Since its defeat in WWII, Germany has strictly banned the use of any patterns or designs that invoke the swastika flag, the symbol of Hitler's Nazi era.