Japanese and South Korean lawmakers pass resolution to establish UN ”World Orphan Day” - Carrying on the hopes of Chizuko Tanuchi, ”mother of South Korean orphans”

The Japan-Korea Parliamentary League and the Korea-Japan Parliamentary League, which are made up of non-partisan members of the Diet, adopted a special resolution to establish the United Nations' "World Orphans' Day" at their joint general meeting held on the 16th of this month for the first time in two years.
The idea of "Korean Orphan Day" was proposed by the eldest son of Chizuko Tauchi (1912-1968), known as the "Mother of Korean Orphans." With an estimated 9 million orphans in the world due to conflicts and other causes, the two parliamentary groups are working hard to establish the day.
Tanuchi was born in Kochi City in 1912. In 1938, during the Japanese colonial period, she married Christian missionary Yoon Chi-ho in Mokpo, southwestern Korea.
From then on, she called herself Yun Hak-ja. At that time, the lives of ordinary people were difficult and the number of orphans was increasing. Ms. Tanuchi was involved in the activities of the orphanage "Mokpo Kyoseien" that Mr. Yun had started in Mokpo, and the couple
In 1946, Tanuchi returned to her hometown of Kochi with her mother and two children, but her longing for her husband and the orphans she had left behind in Mokpo grew stronger, and the following year she returned to her mother's home.
She ignored the persuasion and returned to South Korea. After her husband went missing during the Korean War in 1951, she carried on his wishes and devoted herself to helping orphans.
In recognition of his achievements, in 1963 the Korean government awarded Tauchi the Order of Culture, the first national medal to be awarded to a Japanese person.
The then President Park Chung-hee praised Tanuchi as "a man of love for humanity who protected and raised our children (Korean children)."
"I just wanted to protect the nursery until the time came. The children were the ones who did the hard work," she said. Until she died of illness at the age of 56 in 1968, she raised as many as 3,000 orphans.
When he died, Mokpo City held a public funeral, which was attended by approximately 30,000 people. Mr. Tanuchi's thoughts are carried on by the Kyosei Welfare Foundation, which he later established.
The story of Tauchi's life, dedicated to helping Korean orphans, was broadcast on Nippon Television in February 1992.
It was featured on the documentary program "You Think You Know?!", which led to the production of the Japanese-Korean co-production film "Apocalypse of Love" (1995).
The "Society for Making the Movie a Success" was established, and a large amount of support money was raised. At the time, South Korea was about to lift its ban on Japanese popular culture, and this film was the first to be approved by the South Korean government to lift the ban on Japanese popular culture.
Regarding this, then Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said, "I am pleased that the screening of 'Apocalypse of Love' has become the starting point for future cultural exchange between Japan and Korea."
A commemorative ceremony will be held in Mokpo in 2022 to commemorate the 110th anniversary of Tauchi's birth. Approximately 750 people, including people from both Japan and Korea and local residents, attended and praised Tauchi's efforts during his lifetime.
A ceremony was also held to unveil a monument of gratitude that was erected on-site. Kyoseien will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2028, and in preparation for this, Tauchi's eldest son, Tauchi Motoi, has proposed the establishment of the United Nations World Orphans Day.
On World Orphan Day, Motoi said, there are three things that should be done: 1) a peace movement to prevent war so that no more orphans are created; 2) a human rights movement to protect the human rights of orphans;
The event will be held in 2022 to mark the 110th anniversary of Tauchi's birth.
At the event, the "Proposal for the Establishment of a UN World Orphans' Day" was read aloud. Aiming to establish a "World Orphans' Day," the Japan-Korea Parliamentary Friendship League and the Korea-Japan Parliamentary Friendship League held a joint general meeting in Seoul on the 16th of this month, and
With an estimated 9 million orphans in the world, the Sankei Shimbun reported that the two groups agreed to call for solidarity from the international community.
Tauchi's lifelong wish was to realize a "society without orphans." Inheriting that wish, Japanese and Korean lawmakers have begun full-scale efforts to establish "World Orphan Day."
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