By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
A group of independence fighters and their descendants have criticized the government for publishing a booklet which they claim degrades their efforts and those of the Provisional Government of Korea, the government-in-exile in Shanghai during Japanese colonial rule.
As a means of protest, members of the Korea Liberation Association said they are considering returning their state-awarded medals to the government.
The group demanded that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the publisher of the booklet, recall the publication and that Minister Yu In-chon apologize to them.
The protest comes after the ministry published the brochure in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the national foundation and distributed 30,000 copies of it to schools, government offices and barracks. The brochure said, ``The Provisional Government of Korea, without its own territory and people and international approval, neither represented an independent country, nor effectively administered a nation. Considering this, we can see that democracy began here in accordance with the establishment of the Republic of Korea in August, 1948.''
The provisional government in exile was set up in Shanghai in 1919 during Japan's annexation of Korea (1910-1945). The Republic of Korea was established in 1948, three years after liberation in 1945.
``The brochure said those who formed the government in 1948 deserve the merits of the national foundation. Many pro-Japan collaborators took part in the government-forming procedure, so it means we should attribute the national establishment to collaborators,'' a member of the association said.
According to the constitution, the Republic of Korea succeeded the provisional government, he said. ``The brochure denies the Constitution, distorts historical consciousness and degrades independence fighters' efforts during colonial rule.''
The group plans to deliver a written protest to President Lee Myung-bak and the culture minister.
The ministry, however, said it is impossible to recall the brochures and it has no intention of doing so. ``We think the brochure contains balanced and neutral descriptions. We may give explanations about the contents to the association if necessary,'' a ministry official said.
The dissension between the government and the association began earlier this year, just before the Aug. 15, 60th anniversary of the Republic of Korea and also the 63rd anniversary of liberation from Japanese rule.
The government attached more importance to the former, calling the day the 60th anniversary of national foundation. But the association, which seeks modern Korea's roots to be traced to the provisional government, criticized the administration for overlooking their ancestors' independence fight.