American fights against Japan's wartime crimes

The screen grabs are from YouTube video “Tsunami & Turtle Ship,” created by Andrew Meserth. / Korea Times

Andrew Meserth

By Kang Hyun-kyung

An American living in Seoul is fighting for the Korean victims of Japan’s wartime sex slavery through a recently released YouTube music video, accusing Japanese leaders over the denial of their atrocities.

Andrew Meserth, who has taught English at Hongik University since 2008, posted the video on Dec. 22 and it has drawn positive responses from viewers.

The five-minute “Tsunami & Turtle Ship,” presents images of Yi Ok-seon, a surviving “comfort woman” who has gone to the Japanese Embassy in Seoul every Wednesday to protest against the Japanese government for its wartime sexual slavery as well as scenery from Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo and the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul.

Yi, 86, was kidnapped by two men in the southeastern coastal city of Ulsan in 1942 and was then forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers for three years in the northeastern Chinese city of Yanji. She is one of the approximately 160,000 Korean women who underwent the ordeal during World War II.

In the YouTube video, Meserth criticizes Japan for turning a deaf ear to the protestors’ call, saying no one at the Japanese Embassy has ever come out to meet them during the rallies.

The American also says Yi’s story is nothing new. “Throughout history Japan has attacked Korea many times. Why do Japan’s leaders now deny the horrific war crimes their grandfathers committed?”

He goes on to say Dokdo is the modern version of Admiral Yi’s Turtle Ship which defeated the Japanese Navy during the war in the 1590s.

“Some say the ships spit fire like dragons floating in the water. A new dragon is steaming up the East Sea. Dokdo is now the Turtle Ship.”

Japan insists that the islets should be part of its territory.

In an email interview with The Korea Times, Meserth said that his friend motivated him to produce the video many years ago.

“Back in 2003, my friend Lee Hyo-joon had mentioned that something should be written about the comfort women and their struggle. At the time Dokdo was also a hot issue. I put the rough draft of the song together back then,” he said.

“Some years went by, however, I always remembered my friend’s passion for this topic and it had a lasting impression on me. Then what got me really started was when I got lost going to Insadong, Seoul, and passed the Wednesday rally in front of the Japanese Embassay.”

Five years ago he went to the House of Sharing, a non-profit shelter for comfort women survivors in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province to listen to Yi’s testimonial. After that, he said, he wanted to create a video.

“Her story riveted my emotions. Since then I have been to several Wednesday demonstrations and the idea of their story came into being,” he said.

As of Sunday, nearly 270 people had watched the video. One viewer identified as alogocyber said it is “a powerful, impact laden piece showing uncured spiritual wounds of sex slaves jabbed by Japanese soldiers and their shameless government.”