[KS] Official end of WWII in Asia

[gkl1 at columbia.edu]

It was timely and interesting to re-read the news from 1932 in Kwang  
On's posting. But of course he meant the Korean "Provisional"  
government in China not "Provincial."

Gari Ledyard

Quoting Kwang On Yoo <lovehankook at gmail.com>:

> Hello Everyone,
>
> Today marks the 65th anniversary of the signing of the *Japanese Instrument
> of Surrender <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Instrument_of_Surrender>,
> which occurred Sunday, September 2nd,1945.*
>
> To commemorate, I would like to share this rare, 8 minute long, film footage
> of Japanese surrender, which officially ended WWll, 3 years and 9 months of
> battle in the Asia-Pacific region.
>
> http://enka2.netorage.com:9711/harddisk/user/lyk36/mumess/376-macarthurjap.htm
>
> In the footage, the narrator mentions that the Japanese Foreign Minister,
> Sigemitsu Mamoru (重光葵)was wounded by a Korean patriot and walks on an
> artificial leg.
>
>  In 1932, upon learning that the Japanese were going to have a ceremony in a
> Shanghai park to commemorate their recent victory over China in a Shanghai
> skirmish and to celebrate their Emperor's birthday, Mr. Kim Ku (김 구), the
> then President of the Korean Provincial Government (the government in exile)
> and Yoon Bong-Gil (윤 봉길) concocted a plan to eliminate Japanese leadership
> in China.
>
> With money sent by Koreans in the U.S., Mr. Kim Ku ordered two bombs made by
> the Nationalist Chinese Ordinance Depot in Shanghai.
>
> On April 29th, 1932, during the ceremony in the Shanghai park, Yoon
> detonated one bomb on the troop review stage, killing General Sirokawa
> Yosinori (白川義則), who was the overall commander of Japanese forces in China.
> The bomb also wounded several other military commanders as well
> as Sigemitsu Mamoru, who was the then Japanese Ambassador to China at the
> time.
>
> General Chiang Kai-sheck, the then Nationalist Chinese Premier stated,  "A
> young Korean patriot has accomplished something tens of thousand of Chinese
> soldiers could not do." Ever since, finally,  he and his government extended
> their full support to the Korean Provincial Government.
>
>  Mr. Yoon was later executed in Japan at the age of 24, and was survived by
> his 25 year old wife, and 2 sons, ages 3 and 1.
>
> Details of this account can be found in President Kim's   
> autobiography, *Baikbum
> Ilji* (백범 일지, pages 214-215).
>
> Regards,
>
> Kwang-On Yoo
>