Jul 29 (NHK) - A botanical garden in South Korea has set up a statue of a man kneeling and bowing his head in front of a statue of a girl symbolizing those referred to as comfort women.
Garden officials told South Korean media that the male statue symbolizes Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.
The installation has drawn mixed reactions on social media from the South Korean public.
The work, titled "Eternal Atonement," was installed in Korea Botanic Garden in Pyeongchang in the country's northeast.
The garden explained in a domestic press release on Sunday that it set up the statues with the hope that Japan will face up to the past, offer apologies and be reborn.
But the head of the garden, Kim Chang-ryeol, told NHK on Tuesday the work expresses hope that women symbolized by the girl statue are offered an apology, and the male statue does not specifically represent Abe.
Kim's comments contradict the garden's press release.
Some South Korean social media users are saying Abe must apologize and that he should kneel and bow. But others are commenting that the garden has gone too far, and fear a rise in negative feelings toward South Korea.
The garden has reportedly canceled the statue's unveiling ceremony that had been scheduled for next month.
Source: ANNnewsCH
