By Kim Ji-eun

First Lady Kim Keon-hee held a meeting with members of the Korean Women's Association in Japan at the Yongsan Presidential Office on Oct. 11. The organization members met with the former President Park Geun-hye in 2014, and Mrs. Kim encouraged them to continue their work and asked them to play a role in revitalizing inter-Korean exchanges. 

Founded in 1949, the Korean Women's Association in Japan is an organization of Korean women living in Japan, with a total of more than 100,000 members at its central headquarters and 44 local chapters.

"As a daughter of the Republic of Korea and a mother of the Republic of Korea, you are striving for exchanges between our communities and between Japan and Korea," Mrs. Kim said. "It is especially meaningful for us to have you here today as we renew the relationship between Korea and Japan."

"Recently, Japan-Korea exchanges have become remarkably active in various fields, and we can feel the growing affinity for Korea in Japan," said Yoo Dae-young, President of the Central Headquarters of the Korean Women's Association in Japan, expressing her appreciation for the government's efforts to improve bilateral relations.

While introducing various activities to promote friendship and goodwill between Japan and Korea, such as Korean language classes, Korean cuisine classes, traditional kimchi making, and local exchange festivals, the participants shared their concerns about the difficulty of recruiting the next generation as the population ages. 

One participant said that the construction of a memorial for Koreans who were forced to work at the Ashiō Copper Mine in Tochigi Prefecture at the end of the war is progressing well, and she hopes that the memorial will comfort the souls of the victims.

Cho Hyun-ja, chairwoman of the Hiroshima Prefectural Headquarters, said she was moved and encouraged by the first joint visit by the leaders of South Korea and Japan to the memorial to Korean atomic bomb victims at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on the occasion of the G7 Summit in May.

Mrs. Kim responded by saying, "The joint visit was the President's determination to be a source of strength to you through the re-establishment of bilateral relations."

"Korea and Japan have historically competed and cooperated with each other," Mrs. Kim said, "and I urge you to continue to take an interest in strengthening cooperation so that both countries can become more powerful in the international community." 

"I will also do my best to help our compatriots, including those in Japan, to play their part with greater pride and dignity," she said.