August 2, 2013, 6:50 PM
California City Unveils ‘Comfort Women’ Statue
By Jeyup S Kwaak
A statue of a wartime Korean sex slave was unveiled outside South Korea for the first time this week, a milestone for activists seeking international recognition of women taken to serve the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II and further pressure on Tokyo to provide fresh compensation.
European Pressphoto Agency
Kim Bok-dong, a former sex slave, attended the dedication ceremony with city council members July 30 in Glendale, Calif.
The sculpture in California drew protests before its unveiling from the local Japanese community and government. Japan’s top spokesman criticized the move following the opening event for the statue.
The 1,100-pound statue in Glendale, Calif., is the work of South Korean sculptor couple Kim Un-seong and Kim Seo-kyeong, who came up with the design of a young girl seated next to an empty chair when they were commissioned to work on the original statue now placed across the street from the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. It was installed in 2011 to mark the 1,000th protest held there weekly by now-aged South Korean victims, known as “comfort women.”
Kim Un-seong told Korea Real Time that he and Ms. Kim had sought to depict a realistic portrait of strong but elderly female protesters but changed the image to a girl similar in age to those forced into prostitution decades ago. Some of the girls were believed to be as young as 14, according to historians.
“We thought the victims’ essence should be best shown this way,” Mr. Kim said.
The aged women were portrayed instead in a shadow design beside the girl shaped like an elderly lady. A white butterfly inside the shadow represents reincarnation, according to the artists, meaning they must be compensated by Japan even after death.
Other details of the sculpture include the woman’s clenched fists for anger; unevenly cut hair symbolizing the abrupt break from the women’s homeland; and bare feet that strain to touch the ground to express discomfort.
The empty chair next to her has two meanings, the artists say. On one hand, it pays homage to the women now passed away; on the other hand, it gives a chance for the viewer to sit in the same position as the women being remembered.
Mr. Kim says the statue’s installation overseas brings a stamp of objective approval to this controversial piece of history.
South Korea has called for Japan to do more to settle the long-running dispute over wartime sex slaves, particularly after Korea’s constitutional court in August 2011 ordered the South Korean government to reopen negotiations with Tokyo. Seoul wants Japan to offer more apologies to individual women and revise its compensation scheme to more thoroughly acknowledge the government’s role in forced prostitution.
Tokyo notes a slew of apologies have already been made by Japanese prime ministers and other officials for wartime misdeeds. In addition to a 1965 treaty that settled all wartime claims in return for payments and other assistance, Japan set up a fund for compensation for comfort women and each surviving victim received a signed apology from the then-prime minister.
Some activists and surviving sex slaves rejected the fund because it contributions came from private individuals and companies rather than the state, which they said raised questions about the state’s acceptance of full responsibility.
Korean activists have pushed to build several memorials in honor of the comfort women in the United States at the community level in recent years, with the first plaque installed in a New Jersey town across the river from Manhattan in 2010. A resolution urging the Japanese government to formally apologize and accept responsibility for comfort women was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives six years ago.
Following protests over the Glendale statue, a neighboring town that planned a similar installation is now reconsidering, according to local news reports.
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/azuma-kurabu/e/52c09569fae94b8a641c7cfd5d441c60
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/gbsfh332/63552948.html
慰安婦像の原型写真が発見されました
5:46 am August 3, 2013
Anonymous 2 wrote:
Yeah, and we’re really really sorry. Really.
Now get off my back.
Banzai.
6:02 am August 3, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
“The nation that forgets history has no future.”
Maybe it’s time for Korea to face the fact now. Making a “new” history is not remembering it.
6:16 am August 3, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
To Japan and Korea:
Can you fight each other at your own places?
Don’t bring your fight here to US. We don’t care.
9:26 am August 3, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
It’s not about fighting and beating each other out of animosities. It is done to remember the pains of the past, and tragedies of those who suffered because they were powerless and weak. It is for all humanity to educate our children.
12:58 pm August 3, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
During WWII , Californians jailed Japanese Americans for about 3 years due to racial hatred.
Given that racist heritage, no surprise that they now support Korean lies and false propaganda.
3:42 pm August 3, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
It is a fight between Korea & Japan.
If the victim want the prepentrator to remember the pain, built the statue in Japan, then.
It’s annoying that Korea is using US for propraganda. Aren’t you guys always braging about how great Korea is? Don’t relay on US’s politic power, then. Do it yourself.
6:57 pm August 3, 2013
No Freedom of Speech in South Korea wrote:
Newspaper JoongAng Ilbo wrote an article in Feb. 24 in 2003, 1 to 25 women who over 20 years old are prostitutes in Korea. San Francisco Chronicle said, official statistics show that men account for nearly 89 percent of Koreans with HIV. According to the document of United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime, even now rape criminals happened in Korea 13%. Japan is 1.78%. Also, LAPD official said some 70-80 prostitutes were arrested every month, and 90 percent of them were Korean ladies.On the other hand, the New York Times on Jan. 8, 2009 said Korean prostitutes put U.S military and Korean government on trial. They complained about having been forced into sex with Americans in Korea. Japan is criticized over the so called comfort women problem which was happened in the war by South Korea. I’m sorry I can’t believe what the Korean say!
7:16 pm August 3, 2013
No Freedom of Speech in South Korea wrote:
The NY Times on Jan. 8, 2009 said Korean prostitutes put U.S military and Korean government on trial. They complained about having been forced sex with Americans in Korea. They worked as comfort women from 1960 to 1980 in Korea. Moreover, an LAPD official said some 70-80 prostitutes were arrested every month, and 90 percent of them were Korean. Were they forced to be sexual slaveries by the Japanese military? Was the story true?
According to the Korea police department report in 1955, the number of comfort women is 61,833, who worked for only U.S soldiers. In 1962, about 20,000 comfort women worked for U.S soldiers. According to the New York Times Jan. 8, 2009, Korean comfort women took U.S military and Korean government to court. Women said they were forced to having sex with U.S soldiers from 1960 to 1980 in Korea.
Moreover, some prostitutes have asked for money to Japan because they were compelled the work by the Japanese during the war. In fact, 1 to 25 women who over 20 years old are prostitutes in 2003 in Korea. Therefore, Korean government expressed strong concern about the problem, so it established a new law against the prostitutes. As a result, some prostitutes spread to other countries for work, the statistic shows.
Needless to say South Korea is a big prostitutes’ country. South Korea women want to get the job for money. After they grow old, they ask indemnities to other courtiers and their own government. Koreans prostitutes were compelled the work by the Japanese and American soldiers? I don’t think so.
7:17 pm August 3, 2013
No Freedom of Speech in South Korea wrote:
About 23,000 women work as prostitutes in Australia. 25% to them are from oversea. And over 1,000 women came from South Korea, which means 16.9% of prostitutes who came from oversea are South Korean ladies. South Korean ladies enter Australia with working holiday Visa. This problem also happened in Japan, Canada and New Zealand, because Korean government carried out a new law against prostitutes, which numbers were very high in Korea, in 2004.
South Korean ladies work as prostitutes in other countries such as Japan, the United States and Australia. In the United States, they often set a signboard which is written TOKYO Sauna or TOKYO Health Spa to their brothels; in short they pretend to be Japanese. In Australia, South Koreans advertise in some newspapers Japanese girls 18 years old. Please stop such a ridiculous act!
8:55 pm August 3, 2013
No Freedom of Speech in South Korea wrote:
My friends of Korean has been said some pro-Japan opinion about confort women in South Korea. They erased by social sanction of Korean society and further arrested and punished by the court. No freedom of speech, no justice within South Korea regarding pro-Japan statement. Illegal forces against such pro-Japan Korean were permitted by police and court. All of Korean media radically critisized any of pro-Japan statements and positively attacked such individuals for social sanctions. In don’t understand why the US people are silly for that biased, fabricated statement, injustice and unfairness. Where is the democracy of the US?
3:15 am August 4, 2013
Anonymous 2 wrote:
No, I really am sorry. Really.
But you know Tojo was Korean. As a matter of fact, the whole Japanese royal family is Korean.
If you investigate all the historical trouble makers in Japan, you’ll find they’re all Korean. They control the media and own all our banks. We’re really peaceful, open minded people, but those Koreans make me just “soooo” mad.
Why won’t anybody listen to me? You’re all against me. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.
5:28 am August 4, 2013
Koreans are rude wrote:
And the worst drivers, but it is funny that they want to erect so many statues in USA, which is neither korea nor japan. How about a statue of thanks to USA for ending Japan’s conquest of all of East Asia?
7:32 am August 4, 2013
reporter, USA, http://theclearsky.blogspot.com/ wrote:
The atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during World War II are well known. Western scholars have researched numerous aspects of these atrocities.
Tokyo has apologized for the crimes. Further apologies are unnecessary. Further, Tokyo gave $650 million of compensation to Seoul in the early 1960s to settle all claims related to the war. In 2013 American dollars, that compensation is worth tens of billions of dollars.
Despite the repeated demands from Koreans for ever more apologies and ever more compensation, they are not warranted. The Japanese owe nothing more to the Koreans who were born after the war.
One last thing remains, but neither the Koreans nor the Chinese demand it. Tokyo must nationalize the Yasukuni Shrine and must remove the war criminals enshrined there. The Japanese must show that their heart is in the right place by removing these criminals from a place of national honor.
Only after the removal of these criminals, the Japanese people can and should re-arm. They should terminate any military relations with Seoul and view South Korea as hostile territory.
8:08 am August 4, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
Do you see the White building Hell Ship memorial?
1:02 pm August 4, 2013
First of all wrote:
Please stop sending numerous South Korean prostitutes to Japan. They are illegal immigrants here. South Korean government doesn’t do anything for this issue.
3:37 pm August 4, 2013
No Freedom of Speech in South Korea wrote:
Korea did not fight against Japan in the WWII. Those 2 countries became one due to annexation. Korean and Japanese fighted together against US. So, Japan is not liable for compensation to Korea, because of one country. Only Japan made the postwar settlement for Asian countries, but Korea didn’t.
3:38 pm August 4, 2013
No Freedom of Speech in South Korea wrote:
洪思翊, Hong Sa Ik, he was Korean, who was Lieutenant General of Japanese Imperial Army. 朴春琴, Park Chun-geum was a member of House of Representatives in Tokyo. A seat in the House of Representatives was an elective post. He was elected twice from his district in Tokyo. Many Korean men joined the Japanese Imperial Army, and some Korean experts supported their countries because Korea was the same country as Japan, but they did not pay any postwar reparations to Asian countries.
4:01 pm August 4, 2013
ikehana wrote:
The ashes of war criminals detained at Sugamo prison and later excuted , cremated in Yokohama, were scattered over the pacific by US Army planes. No ash of the war criminals is at Yasukuni. I just want to clarify the point.
4:33 pm August 4, 2013
reporter, USA, http://theclearsky.blogspot.com/ wrote:
The Yasukuni Shrine includes the names (not necessarily, the physical remains) of about 1000 war criminals. Their names and anything that attaches them to the shrine should be removed.
The shrine is a disgrace in its current form. Article 9 of the constitution should not be repealed until the war criminals are removed from the shrine.
5:23 am August 5, 2013
Daniel wrote:
Omg I’m afraid to comment with all these compassionate Japanese commenting one after one…
What rock did you all crawl out from? Time to go back under it and keep thinking that
- imperialism/colonization is good for the conquered country and
- all all those 80-90 year old Korean, Filipina, Dutch, etc. women are really making up stories of being raped by Japanese soldiers all day and night because that’s actually how they want to be remembered in history before they pass away, as lying rape victims, right? Give me a break…
7:21 am August 5, 2013
Kill the Japs wrote:
My grand uncle fought the japs in the pacific in the 1940s. He said his unit hacked and tortured Japanese prisoners to death, took their gold teeth, did all sorts of terrible things to them without any remorse, and no one cared – the Japs were like animals.
I was shocked when I heard about this, but now that I read these comments I’m kind of glad his unit did this – the Japs were cruel and merciless, so why should they be treated with any decency?
7:30 am August 5, 2013
reporter, USA, http://theclearsky.blogspot.com/ wrote:
Prostitution in South Korea is indeed big business. It generates 4% of the gross domestic product of South Korea.
That startling fact does not diminish the gravity of the atrocity known as “comfort women”. Japanese soldiers raped them. The brutality of the rapes caused some of the women to become sterile.
Tokyo has already apologized and has already paid tens of billions of dollars (in 2013 American dollars) of compensation to Seoul. That reparation was given in the early 1960s. Seoul waited until the late 1990s to finally start disbursing the compensation to the former “comfort women”.
Why did Seoul wait so long to disburse the compensation to the victims? The governments of South Korea in 1960-1999 felt that the compensation should be invested in Korean economic development, ignoring the suffering of the “comfort women”.
7:50 am August 5, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
Ano
8:01 am August 5, 2013
To : Daniel wrote:
Do you know they have already lost at the trial in the US ? The US court admited those comfort women were telling lies. The Korean government never bring this issues to the International court of Justice, since they can predict the result. . . Japanese have never protested againt the monuments for Pearl Harvor and the other victims in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines. . . Why ? because it’s truth.
8:15 am August 5, 2013
Met wrote:
What are you talking about?
8:25 am August 5, 2013
No more racism wrote:
Story of comfort women is pretentious history of South Korea, much less the coined word of “sex slave”.
8:34 am August 5, 2013
Met wrote:
So what super computer filter are you running these comments through?
8:47 am August 5, 2013
CruelAbe wrote:
In April 2007, the archives of Tokyo Trials disclosed the Tokeitai (naval secret police) members arrested women on the streets, and after enforced medical examinations, put them for raping by military men for prompt release of dopamine which charged them to kill more people at the frontline, which was the main objective of the Japanese imperial army. It was far more barbaric than modern day Al-Qaeda or Hitler and Stalin combined.
8:49 am August 5, 2013
CruelAbe wrote:
In 2007, the surviving sex slaves wanted an apology from the Japanese government. Shinzo Abe, the prime minister at the time, stated on March 1, 2007, that there was no evidence that the Japanese government had kept sex slaves, even though the Japanese government had already admitted the use of brothels in 1993. Irony is Abe still attends the Yasukuni Shrine (Japanese war criminals shine) regularly as a prime minister, just like Angela Merkel attending and worshipping Nazi shrine which is unimaginable in the civilized Western society. He simply is a savage politician with no ability for redemption in my opinion.
8:51 am August 5, 2013
AbeTheWarmonger wrote:
In 2007, the surviving sex slaves wanted an apology from the Japanese government. Shinzo Abe, the prime minister at the time, stated on March 1, 2007, that there was no evidence that the Japanese government had kept sex slaves, even though the Japanese government had already admitted the use of brothels in 1993. Irony is Abe still attends the Yasukuni Shrine (Japanese war criminals shine) regularly as a prime minister, just like Angela Merkel attending and worshipping Nazi shrine which is unimaginable in the civilized Western society. He simply is a savage politician with no ability for redemption in my opinion.
11:56 am August 5, 2013
ednakano wrote:
Amerivan cannot abuse Japanese with this issue. US military used same system after WWII in Japan , Korea, Vietnam, Iraqbetc. And Now US military is using internal “comfort women”. 1/3 of women soldiers are raped or enforce to be prostitution.
Learn your history.
Korean’s nex tearget is USA because They have more “comfort wonen or “Sex slave” served to US miliary. They are young and they have more firm evidence about it.
12:07 pm August 5, 2013
ednakano wrote:
11 Korean comfort women reciept compensation and PM letter through AWF(Asian women Fund). And they were banished socially. And today “Ex-comfort women” who abuse Japan enjoying rich life in S.Korea. They are political and duplomatic stars.
On the other hand, Many Korean women were served to US military “sex slave” . Korean Gorv. never care their human rights and let employers to maek unfare contruct. Those comfort women could not escape until NGO help them. Korean Gorv. still never care those women and let export them to Japan, USA, Australia, etc. Korean 5% of GDP comes form those prostitution industry with sex slaves.
1:35 pm August 5, 2013
No more racism wrote:
Japan is criticized over the so called comfort women problem which was happened in the war. How comfort women problem differ from these prostitutes? Attackers against Japan over the comfort women problem said that they, prostitutes for Japanese military, were forced into prostitution as a form of sexual slavery by the Japanese military organization. Was it true? In fact Japanese military had not forced these women.
What was happened actually? Many brothel owners opened their business next to military gates. It was a natural because they could make more money. This is quite natural. Therefore Japanese military did not open these brothels during the war, but brothels owners who were local people in the countries which Japanese troops were dispatched. Were they hurt by the Japanese? We can’t find any evidence of that except ladies verbal statements.
1:36 pm August 5, 2013
No more racism wrote:
According to the Japanese Prisoner of War Interrogation Report No. 49, which was reported by U.S in Aug 20 to Sept 10, 1944, 20 of Korean ladies were working as comfort women in Japanese camp during WW2. The “house master” that means manager of the comfort house, received 50 to 60% of the girls’ gross earnings depending on how much of a debt each girl had incurred when she signed her contract.
In other words, Korean ladies decided to get the job. In fact, they got a lot of money. Also, they amused themselves by participating in sports events with both officers and men, and attended picnics, entertainments, and social dinners. They had a phonograph and in the towns they were allowed to go shopping. The Ladies were allowed the prerogative of refusing a customer.
2:17 pm August 5, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
The recruitment of wartime prostitutes were done partially through newspapers published in Korea.
4:04 pm August 5, 2013
No more racism wrote:
Needless to say South Korea is a big prostitutes country. South Korea women want to get the job for money. After they grow old, they ask indemnities to other countries and thier own government. Koreans prostitutes wrer compelled the work by the Japanese and American soldiers?? I don’t think so.
6:46 pm August 5, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
Where are the statues for the estimated 50,000 South Korean prostitutes currently in Japan? In the eyes of the South Koreans, they must be forced to be prostitutes by the Japanese.
7:41 pm August 5, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
The monthly income of war time prostitutes were 10x of average soldiers. According to the recruitment ads for prostitutes, there was even an upfront one time payment to the women. By the way, none of the testitmonies of wartime prostitutes make any sense. There was one former “Comfort Woman” in the US lately claiming she was taken to India in 1940 to work in a brothel for Japanese soldiers. 1940 India is under BRITISH RULE!
7:56 pm August 5, 2013
No Freedom of Speech in South Korea wrote:
Brothels were owned and managed by Korean men in those days and Japanese soldiers used such brothels paying money to Korean owners. It was a business for Korean brothel owners. No force by Japanese soldiers.
9:05 pm August 5, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
Most of the police force in Colonial Korea were local Koreans.
10:48 pm August 5, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
Why Autralia and India never complain about comfort women? Because it is a lie create by Koreans
8:40 am August 6, 2013
from Japan wrote:
Dear Glendale Residence,
What would happen if Japanese people decide to sue your city of Glendale?
Does the city pay for the court fee using American taxes?
I hope Glendale keeps a good relationship with South Koreans, so Koreans would cover this court fee.
from Tokyo, JAPAN
8:55 am August 6, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
OINK!
9:24 am August 6, 2013
AwesomeGaijin wrote:
i don’t know who the anti-Korean “anonymous” is, but just so you know, I’ve been having LOTS of sex with japanese women who tell me that japanese men can’t satisfy them – this is why japan’s birth rate is declining!
10:07 am August 6, 2013
AwesomeNihonjin wrote:
Mr. AwesomeGaijin. You sound awesome. I let you have sex with me too, and I am a man.
12:21 pm August 6, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
Too many South Korean Comfort Women in Japan. Please stop exporting your prostitutes.
2:48 pm August 6, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
It’s illegal to be comfort women in South Korea, so they go to Australia, US, Japan, China.
3:47 pm August 6, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
One day Japan will rule the world. These memorials will all get destroy! Banzai Japan!
8:09 am August 7, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
Statutes for prostitutes in California. Why ain’t I surprised…
3:01 pm August 7, 2013
AwesomeGaijin wrote:
hey little japanese man, no surprise there, japanese men are small and feminine, so of course I’d bone you.
3:48 pm August 7, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
Hey Korean men (that is, “men” for lack of a better expression).
Here, a question:
when Japanese colonized you,
that very day, what did your grandfathers do?
Worn their pink clothes and powdered their faces (like you do today) and promeda at Jongro looking for Japanese men (I mean “men as real men”)?
Lol. You are so pathetic.
Does a CA statute help relieve your pain?
The whole world continues to ride on your women.
No wonder you hate the whole world.
Lol
2:57 pm August 9, 2013
unreal... wrote:
Wow! I am blown away a the level of disgusting comments from what seems like Japanese posters. I am starting to realize now that maybe the Koreans aren’t just complaining over nothing… What a reaction!
Shame on you Japanese… Shame on you Japan…
12:24 am August 11, 2013
Anonymous wrote:
There are actually more disgusting comments from what seems like Korean posters, and many tries to impost as non-Korean, which is awfully disgusting.
4:36 am August 12, 2013
Guess who I am wrote:
Hey idiot japs.
You can’t get away from whatever you’ve done during the war.
You gotta pay us for at least 1000 years.
You kidnapped 300 thousands and murdered half million of our people.
And stole treasures from us.
There won’t be enough to pay us back.
You should be on your née forever.
Don’t ever talk back to Korea.
You are slaves now.
9:20 am August 13, 2013
ednakano wrote:
Most of American citizen shoudl recognize what is korea gorv. and media.
1) Check Airplain accident of Asiana Airline. Not only Airline but Gorvement and media of korea start debate to escape responsibility.
2) Until 1990s, “Confort women” meant “prostitutes for UN militaly (including US)” in Korea. Korean historian publish report about those “UN comfort women” in 2002. They were real sex slave. At that time Korean Military intelligence agency can caught women if they said “she is supporter of communist.” Most of case whose women were raped by agency and sent ot camp town and enforce to be prostitutes.
3) S.Korean use “Comfort women” issue as political tool. “Comfort women” and “Takeshima/Dokdo” are best too to hiding domestic problem.
4) Korean often compare Germany and Japan. They ask Japan to make treatment as Germany. However Germany never pologize and compansate Germany “Comfort women” who were enforced to be prostitutes. And Germany paid notning to other countries. If S.Korea hope Germany way, Japan need to ask repayment of 300M$(1965value) and remained assets compensation (around billion $).
10:40 pm August 14, 2013
COMMON SENSE wrote:
I will just make three points here. 1) Many Japanese, including Japanese politicians at the highest levels of government, deny that comfort women were deceived or coerced into prostitution and that the Japanese military was officially involved in setting up the brothels. This is pretty self-evident, just looking at some of the comments here. The current Primer Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, has articulated this view as well. 2) There have been eyewitness accounts from women of different nationalities as well as written surviving documents that indicate the official involvement of the Japanese government. These documents come from Japanese, American, and Dutch archives. The U.S. House of Representatives, the New York State Assembly, the New Jersey State Assembly, the Illinois State Assembly reviewed and considered these written documents and testimonies when they passed resolutions calling on the Japanese Government to acknowledge their responsibility. 3) Whether Koreans are habitual liars, inferior to the Japanese, criminally inclined by nature, predisposed to prostitution, etc. etc. as charged by the posters here has bearing whatsoever on whether the Japanese government recruited Korean women for sexual slavery using deception and/or force. I hope some of these Japanese posters will realize that they are only making themselves look bad, but I doubt that they are that intelligent.
10:46 pm August 14, 2013
COMMON SENSE wrote:
The reason why Koreans dwell on the Comfort Women issue is because of the Japanese denial, very simple. The reason why American federal and state governments are taking a position is because, while Americans have no direct interest in this matter, Americans are largely fair-minded people and try to stand on the side of justice especially when it comes to human rights.
10:54 pm August 14, 2013
COMMON SENSE wrote:
Oh, I forgot about the resolution by the California State Assembly.
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