Koreans in Egypt celebrate Liberation Day

CAIRO -- A group of South Korean residents on Tuesday gathered at a historic venue where a declaration calling for Korea's independence from Japan was issued, to celebrate the 72nd anniversary of Korea's liberation.

The resident association, along with South Korean Ambassador to Egypt Yoon Soon-gu and other people from the South Korean Embassy, held a ceremony marking the anniversary at the Mena House Hotel in Giza just outside Cairo, where the Great Pyramid is located.

In 1943, US President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chinese President Chiang Kai-shek met at the hotel, issuing the Cairo Declaration, which proclaimed among other things that Korea would become an independent state. Korea became a Japanese colony in 1910 and regained sovereignty in 1945 following Japan's defeat in World War II.

At the hotel stands a monument celebrating the leaders' meeting and the declaration.

"We are holding the event to cherish the meaning of the Cairo Declaration and to promote exchanges between South Korea and Egypt," Nam Jin-seok, leader of the group, said. The group has held a similar event since last year. (Yonhap)