On August 15, 2001 (June 26, 2001 lunar calendar), Kim Dae-jung criticized Japan for distorting history. SEOUL, August 15 (Xinhua) -- Reporter Wang Linchang reported: South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, in his speech today at the 56th anniversary of the "Liberation Day" held in Cheonan City, South Korea, criticized some Japanese forces for attempting to distort history and asked Japan to have a correct understanding of history. Kim Dae-jung said that when he visited Japan in 1998, the Japanese government officially expressed remorse and apology for the past history and the huge losses and suffering caused to the Korean people. But recently some Japanese forces have tried to distort history, casting a shadow over the relationship between the two countries again. He stressed that history is not only a matter of the past, but also a matter of the present and the future. For those who try to make people forget or ignore the great disaster that has brought to the Korean nation, South Korea cannot become good friends with them, nor can it move towards the future with confidence with them. Kim Dae-jung pointed out that many conscientious Japanese are currently worried about distorting history textbooks and visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, and South Korea strongly hopes to correctly develop relations between South Korea and Japan on the basis of a practical understanding of history. According to Xinhua News Agency Seoul, August 15 (Reporter Gao Haorong) On the occasion of the 56th anniversary of the "Liberation Day" on August 15, some social groups in South Korea held rallies and demonstrations on the 15th to protest against Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine on the 13th, and demanded that Japan revise textbooks that distort history. More than 500 people from eight social groups, including the Korea Pacific War Victims Compensation Promotion Committee and the Institute of Ethnic Issues, held a rally in Seoul on the same day to commemorate the 56th anniversary of "Liberation Day". After the rally, the participants held a demonstration in Seoul.