The late Kim Hak-soon holds a press conference at the office of the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan on Aug. 14, 1991.JOONGANG ILBO
Korea marked its ninth annual memorial day for victims of Japan’s wartime military sexual slavery —widely known as "comfort women" —on Friday, 35 years after Kim Hak-soon became the first survivor to publicly testify about her harrowing experience. Years have passed, and now only five government-registered survivors remain.
“I am Kim Hak-soon, forcibly taken as a ‘comfort woman’ for the Japanese military.”
With those words on Aug. 14, 1991, the late Kim became the first surviving victim to publicly speak about the atrocities committed against Japanese military comfort women. In the years that followed, other victims in Korea and abroad came forward with their own accounts.
The term “comfort women” has been criticized for implying that the victims participated voluntarily, and Korean government agencies and victim advocacy groups generallyplace it in quotation marks.
On Friday,the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family held a ceremony at the Kim Koo Museum & Library in Yongsan District, central Seoul, to mark the Memorial Day for Japanese Military “Comfort Women.”
The Asia Solidarity Conference designated Aug. 14 as an international memorial day for Japanese military “comfort women” in 2012. Korea designated the date as a national memorial day through a legal amendment in 2017. This year’s ceremony was held under the theme “From courageous testimony to steps toward peace.”
Attendees included survivor Lee Yong-soo, presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Nam In-soon and Gender Equality and Family Minister Won Min-kyong.
“Lee Yong-soo once said that she wanted to meet President Lee Jae Myung,” Kang said. “I told her that the president would meet her as soon as circumstances allow and that we would make preparations for that.”
Lee Yong-soo, a survivor of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery, seated in a wheelchair, views entries of a youth art contest with presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik, left, and Gender Equality and Family Minister Won Min-kyong, right, during a ceremony marking Memorial Day for Japanese Military “Comfort Women” at the Kim Koo Museum & Library in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Aug. 14.YONHAP
In her commemorative address, Minister Won said victims had continued to suffer from historical distortion and the spread of false information despite their difficult decision to testify about their experiences.
“Although the victims courageously testified to the truth, they have had to endure deep wounds again because of continued historical distortion and the spread of false information,” Won said. “The National Assembly and the government amended the law on ‘comfort women’ victims to prohibit acts that defame the victims and establish a legal basis for punishing the dissemination of false information.”
Won also pledged to preserve records and research on the issue and expand education for younger generations.
“The government will systematically preserve the valuable records and research accumulated over the years and expand education for future generations so that the historical truth of the Japanese military ‘comfort women’ issue and the values of women’s human rights and peace can be passed on unwaveringly to the next generation,” Won said.
Commemorative events for the victimstook place nationwide Friday.
Busts of deceased survivors of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery stand at the House of Sharing in Gwangju, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 13, a day before Memorial Day for Japanese Military “Comfort Women.”YONHAP
The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan will hold its Butterfly Festival near the Statue of Peace in Jongno District, central Seoul, from 7 p.m. The event will screen videos of survivors and commemorative films and present choir and dance performances.
“We have prepared a variety of programs with the hope of creating a peaceful world, which is the wish of both halmoni [grandmothers, often used to describe ‘comfort women’ victims] and us,” the council said.
A commemorative ceremony put on by the government will also take place at National Mang-Hyang Cemetery in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, where graves and a memorial for victims are located. Other remembrance events are planned in Busan, South Gyeongsang, North Jeolla and Gwangju.
Only five government-registered survivors of Japan’s wartime military sexual slavery are still alive. Their average age is 95.8. They are believed to be living individually in different parts of the country, including Seoul and Gyeonggi.
Korean courts have ruled three times — in 2021, 2023 and last year — that the Japanese government bears responsibility for the harm suffered by the victims and must pay compensation. Japan has not participated in the lawsuits, citing the customary international law principle of sovereign immunity, under which a sovereign state is generally not subject to the jurisdiction of another country’s courts.
President Lee Jae Myung has held three Korea-Japan summits since taking office, but the government has not announced any new agreement concerning the Japanese military “comfort women” issue.
BY CHOI HYE-RI [kim.hayoon1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
