[ad_1]
On the afternoon of September 2, rainwater collects in the eyes of a statue of a girl in front of the former Japanese embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul. [이미지출처=연합뉴스]
The ‘Peace Girl’, which settled in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, was established by the local civic group ‘Korea Council’ late last month. It was the first in Germany to be installed in a public place and, as a result of a strict procedure, it was approved by the government office in July.
To establish a statue, the art and social importance of the work must be present, and the consent of local residents is also required. Korea Verband, a civic group, has been promoting the establishment of the Girl Award since last year. The plan was fully secured, in case the Japanese embassy knew it would interfere.
However, the German office of Mitte-gu issued an administrative order on the 7th to abruptly demolish the statue. The reason was that the tensions between Germany and Japan were created by installing an explanation that was not announced at the time of the request. At first, Mitegu considered the statue of the girl as a politically neutral work of art, and allowed it to be installed for a year, but later it was confirmed that it was not and decided to demolish it.
Steffen von Dassell, Director of Mitte Ward, said: “Mitegu is home to people from 100 countries who treat each other with a generous, open, peaceful and respectful attitude, and in order not to undermine this unity, we must refrain from taking a side In a historical conflict, he said: “I refuse to make a unilateral implementation of the public place.”
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi speaks with reporters from the Tokyo Foreign Ministry after a video conference with the foreign ministers of Korea, China and Japan on March 20. [이미지출처=연합뉴스]
Considerable pressure from the Japanese government appears to have been a background for this decision. Minister Kato Katsunobu raised his voice on the 29th of last month and said: “I will approach various officials for the demolition and take steps to explain Japan’s position.” Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi asked for cooperation so that the Berlin girl statue could be demolished in a video call with German Foreign Minister Heiko Mas on the 1st.
Like the aggressive diplomatic offensive of the Japanese government, the statue of the girl was about to be demolished, and the Japanese government was upset that it was a “forward movement.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Kim In-cheol showed a lukewarm attitude at a regular briefing on the 8th, saying: “It is not desirable for the government to participate diplomatically in private voluntary movements.”
Han Jeong-hwa, the representative of the council who led the establishment of the girl’s statue, said: “The council worked hard in Germany to report on the issue of wartime violence against women, including the issue of comfort women, but it hurts to point out that ‘the public place was instrumented,’ “he said. He said he planned to search.
Meanwhile, netizens who heard the news said: “We have to deal with Germany from the front. Let’s boycott German cars!” On the other hand, there are various reactions, such as lamenting the government’s actions such as “The government will go crazy if it is silent”, “I hope the government will stand out and fight” and “It is regrettable.”
Internal reporter Choi Eun-young [email protected]
