By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
A university student offered her mittens to a nun who was rubbing her hands in the freezing cold during the 900th protest held by former "comfort women" in Seoul, Wednesday.
The nun declined the offer and showed her gloves in her pocket. When asked why she was not wearing gloves, she said "I want to share in the agony of the elderly women here," she said.
Despite the extreme cold, several elderly women participated in the protest, which has been held weekly for 18 years, in front of the Japanese Embassy in Korea, downtown Seoul.
Gil Won-ok, a former comfort woman, said that she was grateful to all the people that came to the protest, as they were informing the world of this "terrible" issue. "I want everybody, from children to seniors, to recognize what happened," she said.
The Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan started the "Wednesday Protest" in 1992 with 234 former comfort women, but only 87 remain, with most of them quite old. It is the world's longest-running demonstration.