End war and end military sexual slavery!
"`I was
beaten almost to death and I had to serve 40 men every day. I returned to my
country after walking for 38 days,' Kim testified of the horrors of being a
comfort woman during a hearing hosted by then-US Rep. Mike Honda in February
2007. Following her testimony, the US Congress passed a resolution urging Japan
to admit its wrongdoings and apologize to the victims….There were originally
238 victims of sex slavery by Japanese soldiers registered with the government.
Only 37 are still alive, all of whom are aged over 85. This year alone, three
victims died."
Dear Friend,
Kim Kun-ja, the first Korean woman who testified in the
Congress of United States in 2007 of the horrors of “comfort women” (military
sex slavery for Japanese Imperial Army during WWII), passed away. She
endured and survived Japanese brutal military sexual slavery for 3 years; she
didn't die as a despondent and helpless victim but passed away as a woman of
remarkable courage and compassion leader. Kim's strong spirit will be an
inspiration to many girls and women in the world today who are experiencing
war, sexual slavery, and discrimination! (Many thanks to the former US Rep.
Mike Honda and the United States Congress that passed a resolution on dignity
for former military sexual slavery!)
Profile in
Courage: Kim Kun-ja (1926-2017)--from a former military sex
slave to a courageous survivor
1. A Korean girl
under the brutal Japanese colonization (1910-1945)
·
Born in 1926 in Gangwon, Korea
·
1943: 17-year-old Korean girl taken
to northern China
·
August 15, 1945: Japan was
defeated, WWII ended, Korea was liberated from Japan, and Kim walked for 38
days to home, Korea
2. Courageous
Korean woman came out publicly about Japan’s military sex slavery
·
1991: the first Korean “comfort
woman” came out publicly about Japan’s military sex slavery
·
1998: Kim moved to the “House
of Sharing”
·
2007: Kim testified of the “horrors
of military sex slavery during a hearing posted by then-US Rep. Mike Honda. The
United States Congress passed a resolution urging Japan to admit its
wrongdoings and apologize to the victims.”
3. From a victim
to an inspirational leader--known as a woman with her “Ph.D. in Giving”
·
Donated $100,000 ($50,000 from
her life-time saving and $50,000 from Korean government’s matching
fund) to build “Sharing House” for survivors of former military sex slaves. 690
Koreans contributed in total $800,000 for “Sharing House”.
·
“Don’t spend more than $5000 for
my funeral. Please spend money taking care of survivors of military sex
slaves” –Kim Kun-ja
Selected References: “Justice for
Survivors of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery!”
1.
Zoom in Korea. Veterans For Peace Stand in Solidarity with Comfort Women
Survivors. “Justice
for Survivors of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCfVgvI8DFI
2.
The New York Times. Girls in Japan’s War Brothels. Dr. MARGARET D. STETZ
To
the Editor:
“Apology, if Not Closure, for ‘Comfort
Women’ ” (front page, Dec. 29) describes an agreement
meant to settle the dispute over the “Korean women” who were “lured or coerced
to work in brothels” for Japanese soldiers during World War II. As
survivors have testified, many targets of this brutal system of sexual slavery
were not “women,” but girls of 13 or 14. Many had not even begun menstruating
when they were shipped as human cargo to battlefronts across Asia and subjected
to daily rape. These were not only war crimes, but crimes of
child sex trafficking. Until they are represented as such in textbooks in Japan
— and in news articles in the West — there is no true justice for these
victims. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/01/opinion/girls-in-japans-war-brothels.html?_r=0
3.
United Nations. Economic and Social Council. Commission on Human Rights
Report
of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and
consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, in accordance with Commission on Human
Rights resolution 1994/45 Report on the mission to the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea and Japan on the issue of military
sexual slavery in wartime… In the first instance, it was argued that the
forcible recruitment of 200,000 Korean women as military sexual slaves, their
severe sexual assault and the killing of most of them in the aftermath should
be considered a crime against humanity. Furthermore, as the annexation of the
Korean peninsula by Japan is considered not to have been attained through legal
means 12/ and the Japanese presence on the Korean peninsula is considered to
have constituted a state of military occupation, the forcible recruitment of
Korean women as "comfort women" should also be considered a crime
under international humanitarian law, since these crimes were committed against
civilians in an occupied area. Secondly, it was contended that the
establishment of a "comfort women" scheme, and in particular the forcible
recruitment and coercion into prostitution, is contrary to the 1921
International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and
Children, which Japan had ratified in 1925.
http://www.awf.or.jp/pdf/h0004.pdf
4.
The Telegraph. The horrific story of Korea's 'comfort women' - forced to be sex
slaves during World War Two
"It
was like a slaughter house there - not for animals, but for humans. Outrageous
things were done." In the comfort stations, the women and girls
(the majority aged between 13 and 16) were used as sex slaves. They had to
service between 30 and 40 soldiers a day. It is no surprise that many
women died during - or as a result of - their treatment. Many reported catching
diseases such as syphilis, or being forced to have abortions. One saidshe had
her uterus removed by Japanese military doctors. The atrocities only ended when
Japan were defeated in the Second World War. Of the surviving women,
some went on to marry and have families, while others faced the stigma of
having been raped and assaulted. All had to live with their horrific memories.
Today only 46 South Korean former comfort women are still alive. They are in
their 80s and 90s, and several of them live together in the House of Sharing in
Gwangju city in Gyeonggi province. It is a home for living comfort women, and
is next door to a museum about their experiences. Many of these women will not
live much longer - but they hope that their stories will. As Kim Hak Soon,
one of the first Korean comfort women to testify about her experiences, said:
“We must record these things that were forced upon us.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/the-horrific-story-of-koreas-comfort-women---forced-to-be-sex-sl/
5.
CNN. Will Ripley, A
lifetime later, a Korean 'comfort woman' still seeks redress
Kim
estimates each Japanese soldier took around three minutes. They usually kept
their boots and leg wraps on, hurriedly finishing so the next solider could
have his turn. Kim says it was dehumanizing, exhausting, and often
excruciating. "When it was over, I couldn't even get up. It went on for
such a long time. By the time the sun went down, I couldn't use my lower body
at all. After the first year, we were just like machines," she says. http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/29/asia/will-ripley-japan-comfort-women/
6.
The Guardian. Wartime sex slave urges Japanese PM to apologise during US
trip
Kim
Bok-dong, a South Korean who was 14 when she was lured into sexual slavery with
the promise of a job in a clothes factory, said Abe should “recognise the
mistakes of the past” and acknowledge that up to 200,000 mainly
Korean women were forced to work in Japanese military brothels before
and during the second world war.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/24/wartime-sex-slave-japan-pm-shinzo-abe-apologise-us-trip
7.The
Guardian. Second world war 'sex slaves' to testify before Congress
Mr Honda
said: "The urgency is based upon the age of the women who were
victims of the policy. Every year these ladies get older and older and they
start to die off." Three previous resolutions failed to get beyond the
committee stage.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/feb/09/japan.secondworldwar
8.
Counterpunch. K.J.Noh. South Korea’s Betrayal of the “Comfort Women”
Japan...
upgraded its military agreements with the US to allow it offensive capacity
anywhere in the world….Abe subscribes to ultra-right, nationalist, militarist
ideologies that dream of Imperial restoration, with a 500 million dollar budget
for white-washing its history, and politicians and diplomats rushing
forth to badger and intimidate anyone who challenges Japanese dreams of
imperial glory past, present, or future.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/12/31/south-koreas-betrayal-of-the-comfort-women/
9.
Korean Movie “Spirits’ Homecoming” (2016) English Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14l4l9GNrss
10.
BBC. `Comfort women’: Researchers claim first known film
Filmed
by US troops in China, the clip was found by government-funded researchers at
Seoul National University in US archives. The 18-second clip shows several
women lined up talking to a Chinese soldier. South Korean activists
estimate 200,000 women were forced into brothels for Japan's military. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40552812
11.
“Pope Francis Gave Me a Butterfly Badge.. Everything Will Be All Right.”
[Pope]
Francis greeted each of the seven women, most in wheelchairs, at the front of
Seoul’s main cathedral Monday at the start of his final Mass for
peace and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula.
https://justiceforcomfortwomen.org/tag/pope-francis/
12. Korea Herald. Another
victim of Japan‘s sexual slavery dies
“I was beaten almost to death
and I had to serve 40 men every day. I returned to my country after walking for
38 days,” Kim testified of the horrors of being a comfort woman during a
hearing hosted by then-US Rep. Mike Honda in February 2007. Following her
testimony, the US Congress passed a resolution urging Japan to admit its
wrongdoings and apologize to the victims….There were originally 238 victims of
sex slavery by Japanese soldiers registered with the government. Only 37 are
still alive, all of whom are aged over 85. This year alone, three victims
died. http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20170723000148
문재인 대한민국 대통령
"김군자 할머니의 명복을 빕니다. 강인한 생존자, 용감한 증언자이셨던 할머니. 지난 2015년 12월 31일 나눔의 집에서 할머니를 뵈었을 때 '피해자는 우리' 라고 말씀하셨던 그 모습을 기억합니다. 이제 모든 고통을 내려놓고하늘에서 평안하십시오."
https://twitter.com/moonriver365/status/889076274886352898
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