- Overview
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In this book, the personified Statue of Peace, which stands for the wounds of Japanese colonialism, tells a heartbreaking story about the victims of Japan's colonial war, whose voices have been silenced.
- Book Intro
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Former British prime minister Winston Churchill said, "A nation that forgets its past has no future." This means that we can have brighter future when we reflect on the wrongs of past and inherit its proud legacy. Like Japan, Germany is a war-criminal nation that started World War II. However, Germany's attitude towards its past is very different from Japan's attitude towards its own. Germany has apologized to the world for the Nazis' massacre of Jews during the Second World War and it has educated its younger generations about the past so as not to repeat it. In that context, the Auschwitz camp in Poland, the Dachau camp in Germany, and other shameful sites of history are preserved for educational purposes.
Japan has misrepresented its past ever so cunningly. Anger and resentment are not enough to counter Japan's misrepresentation of the past. We need logical arguments and proof to refute Japan's misrepresentation of the past and we must receive a public apology from Japan. This book delivers the message that we need to confront the historical wound even though it is an uncomfortable and painful one.
- About the Author
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Ahn Miran
(English)Ahn Miran majored in philosophy at Dongguk University. Ahn's literary career started with her children's story, A Crab Went to Sea, which was awarded the Farmer's Literary Prize by Farmers Newspaper. Her poem for children, "A Puddle", won the 1998 Eye Level Children's Literature Prize. In 2001, her novel for children, People Who Keep Seeds won the Grand Prize at the Changbi Good Children's Book Contest. Ahn's published books include Scent of Your Own; I Will Protect You; and Young-hee, an Elementary School Student from Busan, Took a Train to Kyungsung.
Lee Kyungha
Lee Kyungha studied engraving at Hongik University. She is currently working as an illustrator in Germany. Her published books include A Bad Mom; I Can Play with You; Uncle with a Bread Cap; Mom and Daughter; and The Great Gatsby.
