Comfort women' run kicks off in Hackensack

양공주＝ヤンコンジュ＝洋公主　yang gongju

Prostitutes in South Korea for the U.S. military
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Prostitutes in South Korea for the U.S. military

Prostitutes working for members of the US military in South Korea have been known locally under a variety of terms. Western princess (양공주, 洋公主, Yanggongju[2][3][4]) is a common name and literal meaning for the prostitutes in Kijichon, a U.S. military Camp Town (기지촌, 基地村,[1] Kijichon[5][6]) in South Korea.[7][8][9] Western whore (Yanggalbo)[2] and Yankee whore are also a common name. The women are also referred to as UN madams (유엔마담,[10][11] UN madam).[12] The official term was Comfort Women (위안부, 慰安婦, Wianbu), the same term used for military prostitutes in the Japanese Empire.[1] Juicy girls are the common name of Filipinas prostitutes.[13] According to United States Forces Korea's policy, "Hiring prostitutes is incompatible with our military core values."[14]

http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/Comfort_women_run_kicks_off_in_Hackensack.html
'Comfort women' run kicks off in Hackensack

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2013, 2:27 PM
BY MONSY ALVARADO
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

The first run to remember women sexually enslaved in Japanese-occupied territories around World War II has finished in Palisades Park.

Dandy Lee, 72 of North Bergen crossed the finish line in Palisades Park after running in a 5-mile race held to honor Korean women known as sex slaves of the Japanese Army during World War II.
AMY NEWMAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Dandy Lee, 72 of North Bergen crossed the finish line in Palisades Park after running in a 5-mile race held to honor Korean women known as sex slaves of the Japanese Army during World War II.
The Comfort Women Memorial Peace Marathon began around 10:30 a.m. Monday in Hackensack with runners crossing the finish line in front of the Palisades Park library less than an hour later. About 100 runners participated in the inaugural run.

“I want to thank all the runners who join this important event today. Please remember as you run, and when you start to feel the pain that all runners must feel, please remember the silent suffering of so many victims of sexual slavery during world war 11,” said John Chung, president of the Korean American Association of Palisades Park, which organized the event.

James Park, 60, of Wayne was the first to finish the race at 11:20 a.m. Sitting on the curb in front of the library and catching his breath after the five-mile run, Park said he had read about the event in a Korean newspaper and wanted to be part of it, even though he had never run a race before.

“That is why I’m here,’’ Park said through a translator. “It’s important to speak about this.”

There were about 200,000 comfort women who hailed from Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam and other Japanese-occupied territories who were forced to work in comfort stations set up by the Japanese military before and during World War II.

Only a few of the women, referred to as “grandmas” by participants are still alive. A couple of them have visited Bergen County in recent years, and shared their stories of kidnapping and rape with county and Palisades Park officials, as well as members of the public. Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan and Palisades Park Mayor James Rotundo have also traveled to South Korea and visited the House of Sharing, a home where a few of the surviving comfort women reside.

The run was organized to bring awareness to the plight of the women, and to urge the Japanese government to formally apologize to the victims. Japan’s government has maintained that they have already apologized and have set up a monetary account for the women.

The run began in front of the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack where a memorial to the women was erected earlier this year, and concluded in front of the Palisades Park library where another stone dedicated to the women stands.

Among the speakers at the opening ceremony in Hackensack were Donovan, Bergen County Freeholder John Mitchell, Rabbi Paul Jacobson of Temple Avodat Shalom in River Edge, and Kang H. Yu, president of the Korean-American Association of New Jersey. Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino and Palisades Park Deputy Mayor Jason Kim spoke at the closing ceremony.

Clad in a bright yellow T-shirt distributed at the event, Jean Kim made her way to the start line. The 19-year-old Ridgefield resident of Korean descent said even though she didn’t know too much about the comfort women issue, she called it morally wrong and the reason why she registered.

Paul Yun traveled from Chicago to participate. Yun, who lived in Palisades Park 15 years ago, said he’s done other races but this one is among the ones with a special meaning.

“It’s a small step but we don’t forget our history,” he said, noting that he might start a similar run in his hometown.

Teenage sisters Jangyeon and Jangmin Choi, of Demarest, said they ran as part of a church sports group they belong to, and because they had heard of the history of the comfort women and their struggles.

“We are Korean and we thought why not support the event and show how Koreans can work together and run as one,’’ said Jangyeon, 18.

Jangmin Choi said it was the first time she ever ran a race, and that her legs were in pain. But she said during moments where she felt she couldn’t run anymore, she thought of the “grandmas.”

“I tried hard for the grandmas and I feel happy,’’ said the 16-year-old. “I was sweating…and in my mind the grandmas had a hard time, and I couldn’t give up for them, and I finished.”

Email: alvarado@northjersey.com


Eiji Nakano · Top Commenter
Why korean ignore 洋公主. They are sex slave much worse condition than Japanese military comfort women.




Monday run to link two monuments dedicated to WWII ‘comfort women’

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2013
BY MONSY ALVARADO
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
PAGES: 1 2 > DISPLAY ON ONE PAGE | PRINT | E-MAIL

Bergen County is home to two memorials that honor Asian women forced to provide sex to Japanese soldiers in the war years from 1932 to 1945.

Now the county, which has a growing Korean community, will be the site of a five-mile run aimed at bringing awareness to the history of the women — called "comfort women" by their captors — and to urge the Japanese government to acknowledge its military's actions.

"They have to recognize what the Imperial Army did during World War II,'' said John Chang, president of the Korean-American Association of Palisades Park, the lead organizer of the event.

The Japanese government has maintained that it has apologized and that it had already set up a fund to distribute money to the women.

Bergen County's first Comfort Women Memorial Peace Marathon will be held Monday and will kick off with an opening ceremony at 10 a.m. in front of the county courthouse in Hackensack, where a memorial to the women was erected in May. The run is slated to start a half-hour later and conclude in Palisades Park in the early afternoon, at another memorial to the women in front of the Palisades Park library, which was dedicated in October 2010.

Rabbi Neil Tow, of the Glen Rock Jewish Center and member of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said for a year now leaders of Bergen County's Jewish community have been meeting with Korean leaders to learn about each other and to work together for the community. Tow said that when he was told about the race, he wanted to participate and show solidarity.

"These are not [a] pleasant kind of memories, but there is a lot that we can learn,'' Tow said, pointing to the atrocities against Jews during World War II. "Our religious traditions speak about compassion, and helping to use memories for a good purpose."

There were about 200,000, comfort women who hailed from Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam and other Japanese-occupied territories who were forced to work in comfort stations set up by the Japanese military before and during World War II.

Only a few are still alive. A couple of them have visited Bergen County in recent years and shared their stories of kidnapping and rape with county and Palisades Park officials, as well as members of the public.

Palisades Park Councilman Jason Kim said the stone that stands in front of the town's library serves to educate the public about the comfort women. He called that a monumental task and said the race is an extension of that goal.

"By having a marathon, more people participate, and when they participate they will understand what the monuments are for, and who the comfort women are, and how war should not happen,'' Kim said,

The history of the women is being challenged in Japan by some right-wing politicians and their supporters. But in 1993, the Kono statement was issued by Yohei Kono, Japan's chief Cabinet secretary, which offered an apology for setting up brothels and forcing women into the comfort women system. However, many, including the surviving comfort women, didn't accept the statement because it was issued by a Cabinet secretary and not by Parliament.

More recently, Japanese right-wing politicians and their supporters have said that there is no proof that the women were forced into sexual slavery and instead argue that they were paid prostitutes.

This week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, South Korea, was weighing whether it should ask for talks with Japan to discuss the issue of compensation, according to news reports.

Chang said that he plans to hold the run every year until the comfort women's wish of a true apology becomes reality.

Steven Cavallo, the designer of the Palisades Park stone, said he will gather photographs of the surviving women he has met and place them around the memorial for Monday's event.

"When we first started doing this, the women were statistics,'' he said. "We all know the statistics now, so I wanted to make it more personal."

Email: alvarado@northjersey.com


http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/22845663/wwii-korean-comfort-woman-visits-nj-monuments

WWII Korean 'comfort woman' visits NJ monuments


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Posted: Jul 16, 2013 5:40 AM
Updated: Jul 23, 2013 5:40 AM
A Korean woman who was among those forced to provide sex to Japanese soldiers during World War II is visiting two New Jersey memorials to so-called 'comfort women' that were built to honor their struggle.

Okseon Yi traveled from Korea and visited memorials in Hackensack and Palisades Park on Monday.

The 86-year-old Yi is visiting memorials across the U.S. to raise awareness about the plight of the comfort women and pressure the Japanese government to acknowledge the young women did not enter the sex trade voluntarily.

She also visited a group of students in Queens, N.Y., last week who have been studying the issue.

The comfort women issue remains a point of contention between Japanese and South Korean officials.

Japanese government officials initially asked Palisades Park to remove the memorial.




http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20130902-00000027-xinhua-cn

: 帰って来た仕事コナカッタ元声優φ ★ : 2013/09/03(火) 00:04:25.52 ID:???

韓国ニューシスは２日、日本のネットユーザーが「従軍慰安婦は『洋公主（ヤンコンジュ）』だ」と指摘したことに、
在米の韓国系住民が激怒していると伝えている。環球網が２日伝えた。

米ニュージャージー州の現地紙が８月３０日、「第１回慰安婦記念マラソン大会」について報道したところ、
日本のあるネットユーザーが「大部分の米国人は従軍慰安婦が洋公主だということを知らない。
洋公主は朝鮮戦争の時期に連合軍のために用意された売春婦だ」などとコメントした。

また、「洋公主は韓国の諜報員が『共産主義者』『北朝鮮の協力者』として適当に逮捕し、
強姦された末に米軍基地の付近に送り込まれた人々だ」とも指摘している。

報道によればこうしたコメントに在米の韓国系住民が激怒した。マラソン大会を主催した韓国人団体の代表者は、
「慰安婦は第２次世界大戦中に日本軍にとらえられ、性の奴隷として犠牲になった人々を指す。
洋公主と一緒に論じてはならない」と批判の声を上げた。 （編集翻訳　恩田有紀）

http://blog.naver.com/seomyong/60009583374

[펌] 문제의 홍대클럽 양공주 양갈보 광란의파티 사진공개! 낙서장
[출처] [펌] 문제의 홍대클럽 양공주 양갈보 광란의파티 사진공개!|작성자 불혹

http://www.j-cast.com/2013/09/03182868.html?p=all

韓国系団体が「慰安婦マラソン」米国で開催　「日本が謝罪し、旭日旗が消えるまで走る」
2013/9/ 3 18:34

「慰安婦マラソン」なるイベントが、米国で開催された――そんな驚きの情報が飛び込んできた。
地元紙「ノース・ジャージー」や複数の韓国メディアによれば、2013年9月2日、米国ニュージャージー州で「慰安婦記念平和マラソン（Comfort Women Memorial Peace Marathon）」が開かれた。現地の韓国系団体の主催で地元住民など150人が参加したという。
韓国紙「みなが1つになったレースだった」
「慰安婦マラソン」の模様を伝える韓国メディア。黄色いTシャツをユニホームに、約150人が参加した
「慰安婦マラソン」の模様を伝える韓国メディア。黄色いTシャツをユニホームに、約150人が参加した
ニュージャージー州は韓国系住民が多いこともあり、米国での慰安婦顕彰活動のいわば一大拠点となっている。すでにハッケンサック、パリセイズ・パークの2つの市に「慰安婦碑」が建てられ、さらにもう1か所でも建造が計画されているほど。
今回のマラソンもこうした運動の一環として、「慰安婦問題の存在を、より広く知ってもらう」という趣旨のもとに開催されたという。上記2つの慰安婦碑をそれぞれスタート・ゴールとして、およそ5マイル（8キロ）を走るものだ。参加者は24時間テレビばりの黄色いTシャツを着用、その背中には「日本軍国主義の象徴」旭日旗と、老いた元慰安婦女性の沈痛な表情があしらわれた。
政治家やユダヤ教関係者などが複数出席、現地メディアからも大きな注目を受け、特に上記の地元紙ノース・ジャージーは、
「彼女たちの悲劇について詳しく知らない人々も、その名誉のために走った」
と、善意の市民ランナーたちが慰安婦問題に向き合った「美談」として大きく紙幅を割いた。市民マラソンにしては参加者が少ないようだが、韓国メディア「ニューシース」も、「皆が1つになったレースだった」「大会は大成功だった」と得意顔だ。
日本批判が連発されるなど政治色ありあり
一方、こうした「美談」の裏では、かなりきな臭い話題も飛び交っていたようだ。米紙はこの辺りをぼかしているものの、韓国メディアは、閉会式で韓国人と見られる主催の男性から、
「安倍晋三首相と麻生太郎財務相は、（ホロコーストに対し謝罪した）ドイツの故ブラント元首相、メルケル首相に学べ」
「強制連行の事実を否定する日本の政治家たち（慰安婦碑に抗議した自民・古谷圭司衆院議員らを指す）は、この碑にひざまずいて泣いて詫びなさい」
などと日本の政治家への名指し批判が相次いだこと、「日本が慰安婦問題を率直に認め、そして『旭日戦犯旗』が地球上から消滅するまでこのマラソンは続く」と、直接関係ないはずの「旭日旗」までもが攻撃対象とされたことを伝えている。
またこのマラソンが開催された9月2日は、米国では日本への戦勝を祝う「VJデー」だ。主催の男性も上記のあいさつの中で、真珠湾攻撃に絡めながら日本を批判しており、そこからはとても「Memorial Peace（平和記念）」とは言いがたい思惑も透けて見える。
ネット上でも「前哨戦」、中国メディアも注目
なおこのマラソンをめぐっては、開催情報を伝えた米紙サイトのコメント欄で、日韓ユーザーによる前哨戦が繰り広げられた。特にある日本人ユーザーが、
「慰安婦（Comfort Women）という言葉は、韓国では朝鮮戦争以降の『洋公主（ヤンコンジュ）』を長らく意味していた」
と発言したことは、韓国側の憤激を買った。「洋公主」は、日本でいう「パンパン」に近いニュアンスの言葉で、「一緒にするな！」と現地の韓国人会会長が自ら反論するなど、コメント欄は「炎上」状態に。中国「環球時報」もこの騒動を報じるなど、ちょっとした国際問題となっている。



http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2013/09/03/2013090300643.html

입력 : 2013.09.03 08:53
‘위안부기림평화마라톤’ 폐회식 위안부 분재 식수도 곁들여

“위안부 역사 부정은 진주만 공습의 부정” 백영현 ‘일전퇴모’ 대표 일갈
“일본이 일본군 위안부를 모른다 함은 미국을 기습 공격한 일본이 진주만 공습을 모른다는 것이다!”

2일 제1회 위안부기림평화마라톤의 결승점인 뉴저지 팰리세이즈팍도서관 위안부기림비 앞. 백발이 성성한 칠순의 노인이 내뱉는 준엄한 질타는 거침이 없었다.

이날 레이스를 뛴 150명의 주자들과 가족들, 한인사회 단체장, 미국의 정치인과 에스코트한 경찰, 종교지도자 등 참가자들은 백영현 일전퇴모(일본전범기퇴출시민모임) 공동대표의 연설에 숙연한 표정으로 귀 기울이는 모습이었다. 9월2일은 미연방 공휴일인 노동절이기도 했지만 일본이 1945년 미주리함 선상에서 항복문서에 조인한 날이었다. 또한 버겐카운티에서 위안부기림의 날로 잠정 결정한 날이기도 했다.

이날 폐막식에서 특히 주목을 받은 이들은 스티브 카발로 화가와 백영현 일전퇴모 공동대표였다.

위안부 초상화가로 잘 알려진 카발로 작가는 팰팍의 기림비 동판을 디자인했고 기림비를 팰팍 도서관 앞에 세울 수 있도록 제임스 로툰도 시장을 설득한 주인공이다. 백영현 대표는 기림비가 돌보는 이 없이 방치돼 자칫 철거 위기에 몰린 상황에서 사재 수천 달러를 들여 무료 조경을 자청하고 위안부 소녀를 형상화한 ‘위안부 분재’를 정성껏 길러 식수한 주역이었다.

1990년대부터 한국 나눔의 집을 방문하는 등 위안부 피해 할머니들과 교류한 카발로 작가는 그간 촬영한 할머니들의 사진을 기림비 주변에 전시해 눈길을 끌었다. 그는 “일본은 위안부 역사를 부인하지만 할머니들이야말로 온 몸으로 진실을 증언하고 있다”고 역설했다.

주최 인사 중 마지막으로 마이크를 잡은 백영현 대표의 연설은 일본의 우익 정치인들에겐 모골이 송연할 꾸짖음이었지만 나머지 사람들에겐 숙연한 감동을 안겨주었다.

백영현 대표는 “일본은 지난해 5월 네 명의 국회의원이 이곳을 찾아와 기림비를 손가락질하며 ‘위안부는 창녀들, 강제위안부는 단 한 명도 없다’고 희생자들을 모독했다. 그들 4인을 반문명인들로 규정하며 기림비 앞에 무릎꿇고 통곡하라. 일본이여 그대들은 지구상 어디에 존재하는 나라인가?”하고 외쳤다.

그는 “아베 신조(安倍晉三) 일본 총리와 아소 다로(麻生太郞) 부총리는 독일에 가서 브란트와 메르켈로부터 인성교육을 받으라. 전범들이 누운 야스쿠니(靖國) 신사가 아니라 사카모토 료마(坂本龍馬)의 사당에서 일본의 진정한 정의를 배우라”고 일갈하고 “우리의 평화마라톤은 일본이 위안부 피해자들에게 한 짓을 솔직히 고백할 때까지, 그리고 욱일전범기가 지구상에서 사라질 때까지 계속될 것”이라고 선언했다.

이날 행사는 새로운 위안부 분재를 식수하는 것으로 끝맺음이 됐다. 위안부 소녀의 머리를 형상화한 기존의 분재는 나눔의 집의 요청에 따라 한국으로 보내져 그곳 정원에 심어질 예정이다. 새로운 위안부 분재는 장기봉 팰팍한인회장과 스티브 카발로 작가, 마이클 사우디노 버겐카운티경찰 총책임자, 제이슨 김 팰팍부시장, 이종철 시의원 등이 공동으로 식수했다.

백영현 대표는 “위안부분재에는 두 개의 매듭이 달려 있다. 언젠가 일본이 위안부 범죄를 공식 인정하고 사과와 배상을 하는 날, 하나는 피해 할머니들이 풀 것이고 나머지 하나는 일본과 우리가 함께 풀게 될 것”이라고 소개해 박수를 받았다.

▲ 제1회 위안부기림평화마라톤이 개최된 2일(현지 시각) 미국 뉴저지주(州) 팰리세이즈 파크의 위안부 기림비 앞에서 기림비 동판(銅板)을 디자인한 미 화가 겸 작가 스티븐 카발로가 자신이 촬영한 일본군 강제 동원 위안부 피해 할머니들의 사진을 전시하고 있다./AP 뉴시스







http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20130903000794


‘Comfort women’ run held in U.S.

Published : 2013-09-03 19:46
Updated : 2013-09-03 19:46
A run was held in Bergen County, New Jersey, on Monday to bring awareness of the history of women forced to provide sex to Japanese soldiers during World War II and urge the Japanese government to acknowledge history.

According to Yonhap News and NorthJersey.com, a community website for local news, approximately 100 runners participated in the first-ever “Comfort Women Memorial Peace Marathon,” organized by the Korean American Association of Palisades Park and sponsored by several Korean organizations.

The 8-kilometer run kicked off in front of the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensak, the site of a stone dedicated by the county to the women in May this year. Runners crossed the finish line at another comfort women memorial stone in front of the Palisades Park library, which was dedicated in October 2010.
Participants in Bergen County’s first Comfort Women Memorial Peace Marathon pose around a memorial to the women near the starting line on Monday. (Yonhap News)

The stone in front of the courthouse is the first one dedicated by a local U.S. government to honor the so-called comfort women, while the Palisades Park memorial is the first comfort women monument to have been erected in the U.S.

Monday was the 68th anniversary of Japan’s formal surrender in a ceremony onboard the USS Missouri battleship in Tokyo Bay.

“Japan continues to deny and distort the history of comfort women,” said John Chang, president of the association. “They have to recognize what the Imperial Army did during World War II.”

He said that he planned to hold the run every year until Japan acknowledged the truth about comfort women and made a sincere apology.

There were about 200,000 comfort women from Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam and other Japanese-occupied territories.

Runners included not only Korean-Americans but also Jews and Filipinos. They participated in the marathon in recognition of the comfort women not as an issue for Korea but as an issue of women’s human rights being trampled in wartime, he said.

Organizers read a poem in honor of comfort women at the stone monument near the finish line and also a statement urging Japan to apologize for its wartime atrocities.

Donations from participants will be delivered to comfort women.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)

Comfort Women memorial in Glendale, California, the lies continue

http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/Comfort_women_run_kicks_off_in_Hackensack.html

First 'comfort women' run marks suffering by sexual slavery victims MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 4, 2013, 7:12 PM
BY MONSY ALVARADO STAFF WRITER THE RECORD PRINT


Some didn’t know the details of the women’s tragic history, but they put on their running shoes in their honor.


AMY NEWMAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Dandy Lee, 72 of North Bergen crossed the finish line in Palisades Park after running in a 5-mile race held to honor Korean women known as sex slaves of the Japanese Army during World War II. Others had read about the stories of kidnapping and rape, and were inspired to participate to remember their struggles. They were among approximately 100 runners who participated Monday in the first-ever “Comfort Women Memorial Peace Marathon” in Bergen County, a five-mile run to bring awareness to the plight of women who were forced into sexual servitude by the Japanese Imperial Army from 1932 to 1945. “We make sure everybody hears these stories including the people that say this never happened, and we retell these stories until everyone on Earth knows their stories so that this will never repeat for anybody on this planet,” said Esther Paik Goodhart of Demarest, one of the speakers at the closing ceremony. “To the [women] I say I was not there for you when you suffered, what I’m saying is we are all here for you now.” The event also was aimed to urge the Japanese government to acknowledge that part of history, and to formally apologize to the former “comfort women.” The Japanese government has maintained that it has apologized with the Kono statement in 1993. But some of the surviving women don’t consider it a formal apology because it was issued by a cabinet secretary, and not Parliament. More recently some right-wing Japanese politicians and their supporters have said that there is no proof that the women were forced into sexual slavery, and instead argue that they were paid prostitutes. “Today’s peace marathon will continue until Japan admits its war crimes against women,” said Young H. Paik, who donated a bonsai tree that he shaped to resemble the face and hair of a woman. The tree was planted next to the Palisades Park Comfort Women Memorial by the town’s library and Paik, who owns a flower shop, said he hopes to plant one for each woman who suffered. The run kicked off at 10:30 a.m. in Hackensack in front of the Bergen County Courthouse, the site of a stone dedicated by the county to the women earlier this year. The first runners crossed the finish line less than an hour later in front of the Palisades Park library. James Park, 60, of Wayne was the first to finish at 11:20 a.m. Sitting on the curb in front of the library and catching his breath, Park said he had read about the event in a Korean newspaper and wanted to be part of it, even though he had never run a race before. “That is why I’m here,” Park said through a translator. “It’s important to speak about this.” There were about 200,000 comfort women who hailed from Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam and other Japanese-occupied territories who were forced to work in comfort stations set up by the Japanese military before and during World War II. Only a few of the women, referred to as “grandmas” by participants are still alive. A couple of them have visited Bergen County in recent years, and shared their stories with Palisades Park officials, as well as members of the public. Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan and Palisades Park Mayor James Rotundo have also traveled to South Korea and visited the House of Sharing, a home where a few of the surviving comfort women reside. The run was organized by the Korean-American Association of Palisades Park, and sponsored by several Korean organizations. John Chang, president of the Palisades Park Association, reminded participants to remember whom they were running for. “When you start to feel the pain that all runners must feel, please remember the silent suffering of so many victims of sexual slavery during World War II,” said Chang. Clad in a bright yellow T-shirt distributed at the event, Jean Kim made her way to the start line. The 19-year-old Ridgefield resident of Korean descent said even though she didn’t know too much about the comfort women issue, she called it morally wrong and the reason why she registered. Paul Yun, who lived in Palisades Park 15 years ago and now calls Chicago home, said he’s done other races but this one is among those with a special meaning and that’s why he traveled from Illinois to be at the starting line Monday. “It’s a small step but we don’t forget our history,” he said, noting that he might start a similar run in his hometown. Teenage sisters Jangyeon and Jangmin Choi, of Demarest, said they ran as part of a church sports group they belong to, and because they had heard of the history of the women.

“We are Korean and we thought why not support the event and show how Koreans can work together and run as one,” said Jangyeon, 18.

Jangmin Choi, 16, said it was the first time she ever ran a race, and that her legs were in pain. But she said she thought of the “grandmas” during moments where she felt she couldn’t run anymore.

“I tried hard for the grandmas and I feel happy,” she said. “I was sweating…and in my mind the grandmas had a hard time, and I couldn’t give up for them, and I finished.”

Email: alvarado@northjersey.com

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