[Photo] Ashes of 33 Korean forced laborers return home

On Feb. 28, the day before the Independence Movement Day holiday, a ceremony was held at Gimpo Airport as the ashes of 33 Korean forced laborers during the Japanese colonial period were returned to the country. The People’s Committee for the Preparation of Joint Events plans to hold a national remembrance ceremony for the victims at Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul on March 1. The Committee said that there are ashes of 20,000 unidentified Korean victims of forced labor still housed in temples throughout Japan, while countless more victims are buried in forests and coal mines. The March 1 holiday marks the 99th anniversary of the 1919 Korean independence movement against Japanese colonial authorities. (by Park Jong-shik, staff photographer)