Photos of the "comfort women" from the museum.
An estimated 200,000 women fell victim to this, around 170,000 from Korea, and they were taken to military stations all over Asia, many in China, some as far away as Thailand and Indonesia. These would be forgotten memories, forever denied by the Japanese government, except for the few remaining women, brave women, that have stepped forward to have their stories heard.
Video of a "comfort woman" talking about her experiences.
Remembering the Past
In the 1930s in Asia, Japan was aggressively attempting to take over parts of Asia. They attempted to conquer cities and villages in a dozen or so countries, and they set up military posts along the way. Local hotels and buildings were converted into brothels with a Japanese guard outside and "comfort house" rules posted for the soldiers. The "comfort women" spent years of their lives in inhumane conditions and were treated as military supplies.
The red, blue and purple colored markings are locations of the comfort stations that have been reported
by former soldiers, "comfort women" or confirmed through investigations.
by former soldiers, "comfort women" or confirmed through investigations.
They are called "comfort women," although as they tell you upon visiting, there was nothing comfortable about their lives. Most of the women, now in their 80s or 90s, were young girls, 13-16 years old when they were taken. Some were tricked and told they would be going to work in factories in China to send wages back to their families and thought they'd return one day. Other women were just kidnapped off the streets, perhaps in broad daylight and thrown into trucks. Their fate was the same, they were held for years as military sexual slaves.
You can imagine the gruesomeness and pain they endured.
A painting by one of the women depicting her kidnapping.
We were told stories about what the surviving women experienced and saw. The women were given the names of flowers in Japanese and stripped of their old identities. To break them down physically, they were often taken to do harsh physical labor without being fed for weeks at a time and beaten into submission. Slowly they'd be given small amounts of food and told that they were indebted to the people that controlled them, a tactic still used in human sex trafficing today. When taken to the brothels, they lived and were abused in small wooden rooms with little more than small cots or concrete for a bed.
Museum recreations of the name placards bearing the women's flower names and a "comfort room."
The women were raped up to 40-50 times/day and kept in these conditions for years, some as long as 6 or 7 years. They were forced to endure any treatment soldiers, officers, and doctors brought upon them, punished especially if they contracted an STI (sexually transmitted infection) or became pregnant. The women were commonly given injections of Mercury 606 to rid them of STIs, and it often forced hysterectomies or worse upon their bodies. Many women did not survive the harsh treatment. Many attempted or wished for suicide, but most were prevented such reprieve. Those that have survived carry scars and incurable injuries, especially psychological.
Pieces by the "comfort women": dreaming of retaliation against a soldier / an embroidery representing her pain.
Back in Korea, people were noticing the thousands of women disappearing and never sending money back, but they had little recourse against the occupying Japanese. Families hid their daughters under floorboards to save them from being taken, although disobeying Japanese law would ruin your family or worse. Most of the thousands of "comfort women" that survived didn't return back to their "normal lives." Many stayed in the country they were taken to because they had no money to return and knew that if they went back they would never be accepted as unchaste women.
Sculpture representing the lives the women had with guns and pain. Then, the lives they wanted: whole and with a family.
In 1991, the first Korean "comfort women" came forward to speak out against the Japanese government, who does little to acknowledge their claims. Today, there are 86 living "comfort women" registered with the Korean government, others in various countries, and there are likely many more that chose not to be known.
Some of the registered Korean "comfort women."
Coming forward about their mistreatment make them something of outcasts in Korean culture where it's unpopular to speak out against authority. They have been accused of being prostitutes and only wanting the money a small pension provides. But those that listen to their stories can hear that they are brave women fighting to be heard and have justice be done.
Some of the Korean "comfort women" or halmonis (Korean word for grandmother) live together at the House of Sharing where people can visit them for a tour and to see the museum about them. It holds the world's first museum on human sex trafficking. In their 80s-90s, they still live the lives of activists. One of the halmonis I met had just returned from Japan where she gave her testimony, despite her weak health condition, and she joked about a woman her age getting held up in security lines.
These women regularly welcome visitors from Japan and around the world, often urging visitors to sing with them and tell them stories, the way any grandmother might. They've grown tired of sharing their testimonies to all their visitors, but their spirits are lively and they seem hopeful younger generations will help share their histories.
An area for gifts and symbols of peace from Japanese, Korean, and international visitors.
Protests to the Japanese Government
The Japanese government denies that it had any involvement in military sexual slavery in WWII. They refuse to grant any apologies to the women or pay restitution to these women. The Japanese government protests with claims that these women chose to become prostitutes and traveled on their own accord. Both claims are extremely unlikely given the control the Japanese government had over any movement in most of Asia during WWII and the fact that the women would not have had the financial means for long distance travel. Despite the physical evidence and the former Japanese soldiers that have visited and apologized for their abuses to "comfort women," the Japanese government refuses their involvement.
Protest photos from the House of Sharing museum.
- Admit the drafting of the Japanese military "comfort women"
- Apologize officially
- Reveal the truth about the crime
- Erect memorial tablets for the victims
- Pay restitution to the victims or their families
- Teach the truth about this so you do not repeat the same crimes
- Punish the war criminals
On the part of the Korean Government
The Korean government allows Korean women to register as "comfort women" and receive a government pension. Apart from this little is done to defend or support these women, most likely to maintain positive relations with Japan. They seem determined to keep the history in the past, despite the suffering of these women.
More about House of Sharing
Visit the House of Sharing's website or Facebook page to learn more about the "comfort women." They have regular visits to the museum/ house, online petitions, and the women protest weekly at the Japanese Embassy. If you'll be in Seoul on April 11th, they are showing a documentary about the women at the Jogyesa Temple in Insadong.
We're silly and adventurous, computer geeks and yoga peeps.
March 20, 2010
DADDIO
March 20, 2010
Bessie
March 20, 2010
Linda
March 20, 2010
Bessie
March 21, 2010
Abbe
March 23, 2010
Bessie
March 27, 2010
Zzung
p.s. you have really brilliant smile that makes even a stranger happy.
GOOD LUCK here and there!
March 27, 2010
Bessie
It's a valuable piece of history to share. I hope more people continue to learn about it.
March 28, 2010
hotel bedding
May 24, 2010
kaye freeman
You touched me
Thankyou
May 27, 2010
Bessie
It's a difficult topic, and one that is easier not to think about, but like you say, it's important to remember in hope of stopping the pattern. These women were so brave to share their stories.
Take care.
November 03, 2010
min ju.kim
I read this article today. I was read about the book name was 'Night'.Its about a Jewish Victims....
And I need to make PPT about Victims, for my class.
As a korean I try to find my country's sad history.
It's really helpful for me. the pictures and the opinion as
a forigner...
Thank you so much
November 03, 2010
Bessie
If you can, go to visit these women. They don't talk much about their experiences during the war very much any more, but they are very strong, beautiful women. www.houseofsharing.org/
All the best,
Bessie
April 19, 2011
Jeong Yeon Lim
I am actually writing about comfort women for English symposium for my senior year in high school and I was researching for them, and this is great information.
You should read a book "A Gesture Life" written by Chang-rae Lee, in contains story of comfort women, and it's really good. As a Korean, I always felt so sad about how the Japanese government denies what they did and does not even apologize. I hope people read your article and find out the the truth.
May 05, 2011
Moira
June 09, 2011
Lyle
September 20, 2011
Maria
November 06, 2011
Mark
November 13, 2011
Nathasha A. Painter
Thank you for reading.
Nathasha A. Painter