- Comfort Women
- War and the Women’s Human Rights
Comfort Women
Table of Contents Open Contents
Wednesdays for 20 Years is a book tracing the activities of the Korean Council for Women Drafted into Military Sexual Slavery by Japan for 20 years between 1990 and 2010. This is written by Yoon Mi-hyang, the standing representative of the council.
The book is composed of three parts-- the history of the Japanese comfort women, how the council was organized and what activities the members have engaged in, and finally the issue of violence against women during wartime and what it means to resolve the comfort women issue. The book inserted records of participation here and there under the titles of “Old Ladies and Me” and “Participation in Wednesday Protest.”
The first chapter “Wednesday Protest: We Are All Linked” describes how the council members have participated in weekly protests over 20 years. Despite the Japanese Embassy and its iron gate that was always closed and complaints of pedestrians who grumbled about the inconvenience as we blocked the walkway, the chapter tells the story of the two decades of every Wednesday protests. The old ladies who suffered unspeakable ordeals, Korean nationals who live overseas, and young students were the participants along with the council members. A young man’s remarks that he gets new strength every time from the meeting instead of consoling the ladies makes us realize this is truly a space in which we can heal the present while creating a better future. The engaging first chapter makes you feel like reading the next one.
The chapters “Beautiful Names and Dirty Names” and “What Happened to the 13-year-old Daydreaming Girl?” explain the history of the Japanese comfort women system.
The author describes terms used by the Japanese military by saying the way names are made reflects the name creators’ value. By tracking the history of the terms like the Women’s Army Volunteer Corps, comfort women, Japanese military comfort women, war comfort women, and sex slaves, the author expounds on the background and the final assignment of the term Japanese military comfort women. Even though the issue of Japanese military comfort women has been widely publicized, there are many things that are not yet clear. If you are one of the readers who wonder why, you should read this chapter carefully. What’s curious is why the Korean Council for Women Drafted into Military Sexual Slavery by Japan still has “the Women’s Army Volunteer Corps” part in its name (in Korean names) although it argues that the terms volunteer corps and comfort women must be used separately.
Following a part on the terms, the author continues with the history of the comfort women system run by the Japanese military and who were involved. The way it was written in easy-to-read terms helps readers who have wondered about the issue’s most important sticking points understand it clearly.
There are several points that need clarification, however. The author highlighted the fact that Korean girls younger than 20 years of age were forced into prostitution (in p. 47). This is also corroborated in interviews by the survivors. Overall, most of the women were in their late teens to early 20s. But young girls in their early teens and mature women in their 30s and 40s were also forced to participate. The description of Korean women forced into prostitution must have been complemented with that of women from China, Indonesia, and the Philippines, as well as Japan. With this, the description could be complete.
In addition, the description on the process of establishing comfort stations across the occupied areas could have been more detailed. The author says the first incidence of the Japanese military-run comfort station was in 1932 when a Japanese army officer under the Shanghai Expeditionary Army made an official request to bring in comfort women for his troops (p. 50). According to memoirs by the officer himself, however, he brought in comfort women in imitation of the Navy stationed in the Shanghai area. ( Masao Inaba (ed.), General Yasuzi Okamura: Remembrance of the War Vol. I, Hara Shobo, 1970, pp. 302-303.) According to the memoirs, the Army did not build the first comfort station. The initial facility was built by the Japanese Navy in Shanghai. According to the author, the comfort stations were intended to raise the soldiers’ morale. It may be a more precise description to say that the Japanese military began to systemize the scheme as the war wore on and the battle front expanded.
The issue surrounding the forceful recruitment of women is currently the focus of controversy in Japan. To look at the issue without being caught up in wasteful controversy, it is necessary to examine the official documents related to the recruitment and transport of women by the Japanese military and government, the essential features of the Japanese Empire that grew through a series of wars, Japan’s discriminatory policy toward its colonies, the nature of Korean colonial society, and the records of the victims. This book provides the accounts of how the comfort women were recruited and their lives as slaves from the victims’ viewpoint. If the Japanese government can sympathize with the fear and sorrow of the women locked up in the comfort stations in this book, it can readily apologize and pay compensation to the victims without politicizing the issue. This indeed will be the starting point of resolving the matter.
The chapter “I Can’t Go back to Hometown” tells us a lot about our narrow-mindedness as it describes the continuing travails of a woman who suffered even after the liberation. In a story where she had to endure four agonizing years after the war’s end that were virtually no different from her life in the comfort station (p. 76) or her remarks that Korean society is not ready to embrace sex crime victims (p. 82), we understand how backward our society has been since the liberation in terms of acceptance and tolerance. In addition to demanding that today’s members of the Japanese government take responsibility for and work to resolve the issue, the author also sharply scolds our society for its failure to look back and self-reflect.
The following chapters “The People Who Planted the Seeds of Hope” and “Kim Hak-soon: The Most Beautiful Confession in the World” tell the stories of women and other participants who defied forced silence and tried to open wide the issue of comfort women. Readers can understand from this how the Korean Council was organized, its members’ Wednesday protest, and other activities that it did for the victims.
The story of Prof. Yoon Jung-ok, who spent most of her life to discover the truth behind the victims painful past, and other women activists who worked with her, as well as how the Korean Council was born from their efforts, shows that the ability to sympathize with other people’s suffering has become the locomotive for changing history. The parts readers must pay special attention to are the stories of former comfort women who were reborn as women’s rights activists, including Kim Hak-soon, Kang Deok-kyung, Jan O'Herne, and Gil Won-ok. Under difficult circumstances in which coming forward required exceptional courage, they testified about their own experience while demanding justice and historical truth. From their audacity, we can easily understand why we must keep fighting to get the truth out.
The chapter “It’s Not over Yet” talks about the attitude of the Japanese government toward the comfort women issue and how it has changed over time. The author levels harsh criticism against the Kono Statement and Asian Women's Fund, the two best responses so far by the Japanese government. In 2014, at a time when the Japanese government is trying to deny the Kono Statement or reevaluate it, this chapter makes us rethink the Japanese government’s responsibility to the sex crime victims.
The chapter “War and Women, Recurring Bad Karma” shows stories of another group of comfort women. The author describes uninterrupted cases of violence against women even after World War II under the Cold War, underscoring the issue of Japanese comfort women has not ended and will continue unless we put an end to it. The description of Vietnamese civilians who were subjected to massacre and sexual violence by Korean soldiers during the Vietnam War makes us think about our follies. This is a reflection of ourselves during the 1960s and 1970s when we were unable to think hard enough about the issue of peace and human rights even though we had suffered greatly under Japanese colonialism.
The chapter “Future That We Must Create” is an epilogue. As its subtitle “Toward a Peaceful, Caring World” suggests, it talks about in what direction the comfort women issue must be resolved. Readers may get an understanding of why we should consider big issues like imperialism, colonialism, war and mobilization, nation and class, discrimination against women, and patriarchy and the violent nature of our society when talking about the resolution of the comfort women issue.
One of the most attractive parts of this book is that it assigned contact points here and there. The first page of the book shows different faces of old ladies. The old photos of the victims found occasionally in the book when they were young make us imagine what it would be like to live as a forced prostitute almost 70 years ago. The friendly writing style of Yoon Mi-hyang makes the reader feel like joining the movement today to demand justice for the victims. The record of participation written by the victim-activists and Wednesday protest members is the best part of this book. While reading “My Bosom Friend’s Diary” and “A Letter to the Old Lady,” readers may feel once again why we should care about the suffering endured by the victims.
The book is composed of three parts-- the history of the Japanese comfort women, how the council was organized and what activities the members have engaged in, and finally the issue of violence against women during wartime and what it means to resolve the comfort women issue. The book inserted records of participation here and there under the titles of “Old Ladies and Me” and “Participation in Wednesday Protest.”
The first chapter “Wednesday Protest: We Are All Linked” describes how the council members have participated in weekly protests over 20 years. Despite the Japanese Embassy and its iron gate that was always closed and complaints of pedestrians who grumbled about the inconvenience as we blocked the walkway, the chapter tells the story of the two decades of every Wednesday protests. The old ladies who suffered unspeakable ordeals, Korean nationals who live overseas, and young students were the participants along with the council members. A young man’s remarks that he gets new strength every time from the meeting instead of consoling the ladies makes us realize this is truly a space in which we can heal the present while creating a better future. The engaging first chapter makes you feel like reading the next one.
The chapters “Beautiful Names and Dirty Names” and “What Happened to the 13-year-old Daydreaming Girl?” explain the history of the Japanese comfort women system.
The author describes terms used by the Japanese military by saying the way names are made reflects the name creators’ value. By tracking the history of the terms like the Women’s Army Volunteer Corps, comfort women, Japanese military comfort women, war comfort women, and sex slaves, the author expounds on the background and the final assignment of the term Japanese military comfort women. Even though the issue of Japanese military comfort women has been widely publicized, there are many things that are not yet clear. If you are one of the readers who wonder why, you should read this chapter carefully. What’s curious is why the Korean Council for Women Drafted into Military Sexual Slavery by Japan still has “the Women’s Army Volunteer Corps” part in its name (in Korean names) although it argues that the terms volunteer corps and comfort women must be used separately.
Following a part on the terms, the author continues with the history of the comfort women system run by the Japanese military and who were involved. The way it was written in easy-to-read terms helps readers who have wondered about the issue’s most important sticking points understand it clearly.
There are several points that need clarification, however. The author highlighted the fact that Korean girls younger than 20 years of age were forced into prostitution (in p. 47). This is also corroborated in interviews by the survivors. Overall, most of the women were in their late teens to early 20s. But young girls in their early teens and mature women in their 30s and 40s were also forced to participate. The description of Korean women forced into prostitution must have been complemented with that of women from China, Indonesia, and the Philippines, as well as Japan. With this, the description could be complete.
In addition, the description on the process of establishing comfort stations across the occupied areas could have been more detailed. The author says the first incidence of the Japanese military-run comfort station was in 1932 when a Japanese army officer under the Shanghai Expeditionary Army made an official request to bring in comfort women for his troops (p. 50). According to memoirs by the officer himself, however, he brought in comfort women in imitation of the Navy stationed in the Shanghai area. ( Masao Inaba (ed.), General Yasuzi Okamura: Remembrance of the War Vol. I, Hara Shobo, 1970, pp. 302-303.) According to the memoirs, the Army did not build the first comfort station. The initial facility was built by the Japanese Navy in Shanghai. According to the author, the comfort stations were intended to raise the soldiers’ morale. It may be a more precise description to say that the Japanese military began to systemize the scheme as the war wore on and the battle front expanded.
The issue surrounding the forceful recruitment of women is currently the focus of controversy in Japan. To look at the issue without being caught up in wasteful controversy, it is necessary to examine the official documents related to the recruitment and transport of women by the Japanese military and government, the essential features of the Japanese Empire that grew through a series of wars, Japan’s discriminatory policy toward its colonies, the nature of Korean colonial society, and the records of the victims. This book provides the accounts of how the comfort women were recruited and their lives as slaves from the victims’ viewpoint. If the Japanese government can sympathize with the fear and sorrow of the women locked up in the comfort stations in this book, it can readily apologize and pay compensation to the victims without politicizing the issue. This indeed will be the starting point of resolving the matter.
The chapter “I Can’t Go back to Hometown” tells us a lot about our narrow-mindedness as it describes the continuing travails of a woman who suffered even after the liberation. In a story where she had to endure four agonizing years after the war’s end that were virtually no different from her life in the comfort station (p. 76) or her remarks that Korean society is not ready to embrace sex crime victims (p. 82), we understand how backward our society has been since the liberation in terms of acceptance and tolerance. In addition to demanding that today’s members of the Japanese government take responsibility for and work to resolve the issue, the author also sharply scolds our society for its failure to look back and self-reflect.
The following chapters “The People Who Planted the Seeds of Hope” and “Kim Hak-soon: The Most Beautiful Confession in the World” tell the stories of women and other participants who defied forced silence and tried to open wide the issue of comfort women. Readers can understand from this how the Korean Council was organized, its members’ Wednesday protest, and other activities that it did for the victims.
The story of Prof. Yoon Jung-ok, who spent most of her life to discover the truth behind the victims painful past, and other women activists who worked with her, as well as how the Korean Council was born from their efforts, shows that the ability to sympathize with other people’s suffering has become the locomotive for changing history. The parts readers must pay special attention to are the stories of former comfort women who were reborn as women’s rights activists, including Kim Hak-soon, Kang Deok-kyung, Jan O'Herne, and Gil Won-ok. Under difficult circumstances in which coming forward required exceptional courage, they testified about their own experience while demanding justice and historical truth. From their audacity, we can easily understand why we must keep fighting to get the truth out.
The chapter “It’s Not over Yet” talks about the attitude of the Japanese government toward the comfort women issue and how it has changed over time. The author levels harsh criticism against the Kono Statement and Asian Women's Fund, the two best responses so far by the Japanese government. In 2014, at a time when the Japanese government is trying to deny the Kono Statement or reevaluate it, this chapter makes us rethink the Japanese government’s responsibility to the sex crime victims.
The chapter “War and Women, Recurring Bad Karma” shows stories of another group of comfort women. The author describes uninterrupted cases of violence against women even after World War II under the Cold War, underscoring the issue of Japanese comfort women has not ended and will continue unless we put an end to it. The description of Vietnamese civilians who were subjected to massacre and sexual violence by Korean soldiers during the Vietnam War makes us think about our follies. This is a reflection of ourselves during the 1960s and 1970s when we were unable to think hard enough about the issue of peace and human rights even though we had suffered greatly under Japanese colonialism.
The chapter “Future That We Must Create” is an epilogue. As its subtitle “Toward a Peaceful, Caring World” suggests, it talks about in what direction the comfort women issue must be resolved. Readers may get an understanding of why we should consider big issues like imperialism, colonialism, war and mobilization, nation and class, discrimination against women, and patriarchy and the violent nature of our society when talking about the resolution of the comfort women issue.
One of the most attractive parts of this book is that it assigned contact points here and there. The first page of the book shows different faces of old ladies. The old photos of the victims found occasionally in the book when they were young make us imagine what it would be like to live as a forced prostitute almost 70 years ago. The friendly writing style of Yoon Mi-hyang makes the reader feel like joining the movement today to demand justice for the victims. The record of participation written by the victim-activists and Wednesday protest members is the best part of this book. While reading “My Bosom Friend’s Diary” and “A Letter to the Old Lady,” readers may feel once again why we should care about the suffering endured by the victims.