hankyoreh

Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attended the Sunday preview showing of a movie about Korean Lee Su-hyon, who died in a Japanese subway station trying to save a drunken Japanese man who had fallen onto the tracks.

The movie, "Anata o Wasurenai" (We will never forget you) is a joint venture by Korean and Japanese filmmakers. The screening attended by the Japanese royal family was shown on the sixth anniversary of Lee's death on January 26, 2001.

The event marks the first time both the emperor and empress have visited a private moving showing together. The emperor received Lee's parents at the royal palace in 2002, a year after their son's death.

The evening of the film screening included live appearances by the film's cast, the entrance of the emperor and empress, the film's preview, and a moment of silence for Lee's memory.

Also in attendance was Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe's wife Akie, former prime minister Yoshiro Mori, former chief cabinet secretary Yasuo Fukuda, the Japanese baseball star Jang Hun, who is an ethnic Korean, and other prominent members of Japanese society. The approximately 600 people invited to the event remained solemnly quiet for the duration of the film.

The fact that the emperor and empress attended the preview is being seen as all the more significant because Prince Naruhito attended a "friendship concert" on January 22 with participants from Korea, China, and Japan, in which the prince played violin with Korean Jang Myung-houn conducting.


Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]