"Hibakusha′ is a term that originally referred to survivors of the atomic bombings. They are considered victims because they have long suffered from the aftereffects of the bombing. They survived, but failed to live a decent life as human beings. The director believes that the term can be applied to not just Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where the bombs directly hit, but also to Iraq and the U.S. since the Gulf War. Hibakusha, however, is not interested in featuring striking images in order to visualize unseen damages of radioactive contamination and to reproduce its destructive power. That is because the contamination is so destructive and persistent that it is impossible to be purified overnight. The Gulf War that the U.S. and allied forces proudly declared a ′clean war′ turned out to leave irreversible contamination in the Iraqi lands and rivers, and cancer cells in its people. Also, people in not just Japan but also Hanford, where the experiments for atomic bombing were carried out, are still fighting the horror of contamination. This film presents the faces of Hibakusha who are outwardly emotionless, peaceful scenery of nature surrounding them, and the silence of the metropolis. And, those scenes seem to whisper that a dark fate for the earth is just around the corner. (Kim Ji-hoon)