Japanese Atom Bomb Survivors-- Part 3: Koreans Forced to Work in Japan During the War and, the A-Bomb

Some 20,000 ethnic Korean residents of Hiroshima are believed to have died in the nuclear attack.  The city, a wartime military hub, had a large number of Korean workers, including those forced to work without pay at mines and factories under Japan's colonization of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

On August 6, 1945, Lee Jong-keun (now 92), then 16 years old and a second-generation Korean born in Japan, was on his way to work at Japan's national railway authority in Hiroshima when the uranium bomb nicknamed Little Boy exploded.  The whole sky turned yellowish orange, knocking him to the ground, Lee said.  He suffered severe burns on his neck that took four months to heal.

Back at work, co-workers wouldn't go near him, saying he had "A-bomb disease."

Little was known about the effects of the bomb, and some believed radiation was similar to to an infectious disease.  Prospective marriage partners were also worried about genetic damage that could be passed to children.

--GreGen