Forced into sexual slavery in World War II, these seven elderly women are still fighting for justice and acknowledgement today. Guest writer Deva Lee shares the sobering story of Korea’s last “Comfort Women”.
Every Wednesday at noon, for the past decade, seven geriatric Korean women gather outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul.
They are the last of the Korean “위안부/Wianbu”or “Comfort Women”, who were forced to work in state-organised brothels servicing Japanese soldiers in World War II.
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In the 70 years since the first brothels or “Comfort Stations” were organised, no perpetrators have ever been arrested, nor has any compensation been awarded to the women.
In 2007, the Comfort Women held their first protest. Since then, they have held more than 1000 protests at the Japanese embassy in Seoul, in which they, together with their supporters, present their demands for justice and recognition.
When not protesting, the halmonis (grandmothers), as they are respectfully referred to, all live in the House of Sharing (www.nanum.org/en), a safehouse built in 1992 to serve as a home for the remaining Korean Comfort Women.
The house is open to the public, and tours include a meeting with the halmonis, as well as a visit to their museum. It is here that the Comfort Women’s stories are validated and their history documented.
While many of the Comfort Women were Korean, up to 200, 000 women from all over Asia were forcibly recruited to work in the brothels. Some were lured under false promises of work, while others were abducted from their homes. The picture below shows a young Chinese Comfort Woman in Burma, 1945, interviewed by an Allied officer.
The first Comfort Stations were set up in 1932 in response to reports that Japanese soldiers were raping civilians in Shanghai. As a proposed solution, the military ordered that Comfort Women be provided as an alternative means to satisfy the soldiers.
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Since the prostitution was forced, it was simply another kind of rape – and so it is clear they only attempted to stop the circumstance of the rape, not the rape itself.
South Korea plans to raise the issue at the UN General Assembly, but in the mean time, the women are growing older. Of the 234 Korean Comfort Women that identified themselves publicly, only seven remain.
They have been protesting so long that their weekly protests are listed as a tourist attraction in the Lonely Planet guide. Their demands are clear:
- Acknowledge the war crime.
- Make an official apology.
- Reveal the truth in its entirety about the crimes of military sexual slavery
- Erect a memorial for the victims of the military sexual slavery and establish a historical museum
- Make legal reparations
- Accurately record the crime in history textbooks
- Punish those responsible for the war crime
- Quoted from a statement by The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.
Most recently, the halmonis have spoken out in a different way by inviting members of the Japanese government to visit the House of Sharing in the hopes that some resolution can be found.
The letter reads: “We know that you are busy, but will you visit us some time? We hope that you will visit us so that you can learn the real truth about history and meet with the survivors, the victims, share our table and talk with us”.
I suspect that, like their protests, their letter will be ignored. For now, the halmonis will continue to gather at the embassy each Wednesday and, as per usual, the Japanese officials will close their blinds.
Read more about Comfort Women:
- Comfort Women Digital Museum, http://www.awf.or.jp/e1/index.html
- The History of the Wednesday Demonstration, http://en.womenandwar.net
- Comfort Women invite Japanese Politicians to Korea, http://english.hani.co.kr
Had you heard of Asia’s Comfort Women before? Do you know of another group of women fighting to see justice served? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
[...] article above was originally published in Worldette. Below I have added some commentary on the latest political activity involving the Comfort [...]
africasacountry.com/2012/10/23/herero-women-challenge-german-amnesia/
Absolutely horrific. Similarly, the European colonists need to acknowledge their crimes perpetuated in Africa.
Dearest and Most Esteemed Grandmothers, Your stories of the pain, horrible tragedies, and suffering each of you experienced makes my heart cry for you. I was not born til 1954. My father was a sailor on the USS St. Louis in the Pacific during the war against the Imperial Military and yes, their nation. To this day, there is no love loss towards the aggressors at all in thos family despite the generations which have past.German war criminals had been brought to trial and convicted. But, I have YET to learn or read of any of the Japanese war criminals or their Imperial Family, especially, Hirohito being brooight to trial nor any convictions to speak of. So, the atrocities were NEVER punished bythose who condoned them! What is it in society when it comes to women, that men think we should just forget. Japan, just try to say sorry for once. Even the United States has been able to that in history.But, you stepped on the tail of sleeping dragon in 1941 and despite three to four generations passing, it is still fresh as it was when my mother heard it on the radio in December 7, 1941 and my 18year old father to be was off to war until coming home in 1946. A giant was woken that day, and i can only wish and pray to my loving God that I personally could have saved each and every girl from suffering from the brutal crime inflicted upon them by these Japanese Comfort Stations at this time in our history. Do I sound angry, you bet I am. I still feel grief for the victims of the Nazi Holocaust, the ethnic cleansing of the Bosnian War, and, even in Darfur and other Affican nations, crimes against women continue. Grandmothers of Korea and other nations who endured, those who have spoke out to help others who still grieve in silence…I love you each kind and gentle spirit, and pray each receive the peace you each deserve. In Christ`s Love for each of you, Pattie Elizabeth (St.Louis, Missouri, USA)