CHEONAN, South Korea, June 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korea and China's shared historical experience in fighting Japanese aggression would hopefully lend wisdom to them for creating a better future, the chief of a South Korean history museum said.
"In the past, South Korea and China suffered tremendous hardships after the Japanese aggression, but people of the two countries rose above the difficulties by joining forces and fighting against Japan," Han See-jun, president of the Independence Hall of Korea based in Cheonan, some 85 km south of the capital Seoul, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
The independence hall, which was established in 1987, was built with donations from ordinary people who were infuriated at Japan's history textbooks in 1982 that distorted its colonial history and whitewashed its aggression.
About 1.5 million to 2 million people visit the hall every year, said Han, adding that it has become a must-visit place for South Korean students to carry out patriotic study tours.
The Independence Hall of Korea has seven exhibition halls, which show the anti-Japanese movement of South Korean independence fighters and the provisional government across the Chinese mainland, as well as Chinese figures and organizations supporting and fighting with the independence fighters from the peninsula.
The historical sites where the independence fighters promoted the anti-Japanese movement are well-preserved in various parts of China and relevant memorial halls were also built with the cooperation and support of the Chinese government, Han noted.
"People of South Korea and China share a history of jointly fighting against Japan ... forming deep ties and friendships," Han said.
The museum chief noted that South Korea and China should engage in more exchanges and cooperation to tackle Japan's distortion of the history of its aggression and to work together to demand Japan's apology and remorse over its militarist past. ■
