Commemorative event held for 53 survivors of sexual slavery

Chung Bok-soo, one of 53 Korean survivors of sexual slavery under Japanese colonial rule, who turned 100 years old this year, accepts the best wishes from a student during a commemorative event held at the House of Sharing in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, Saturday. / Yonhap

By Kim Se-jeong

A civic group in Gyeonggi Province held a commemorative event, Saturday, for 53 survivors forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military before and during World War II.

The event came three days after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe chose not to apologize to them in an address to the U.S. Congress despite their wishes.

The House of Sharing, which runs a shelter for 10 survivors, organized the annual event ahead of Parents’ Day that falls on May 8.

This year’s event was special for Chung Bok-soo who turned 100 years old this year.

The oldest survivor among the 53 was born in 1916 in Imsil, North Jeolla Province, and was taken to one of the Micronesian islands in the Western Pacific at the age of 16.

Chung was coerced to provide sex to Japanese soldiers until returning home in 1945. She lived alone after returning; but adopted a son. She moved to the shelter two years ago.

Suffering from dementia, she goes through emotional ups and downs, according to civic group members. “She especially does not like people with cameras, probably because she was disappointed with the sexual slavery issue being unsolved although she had appealed for the issue through the media,” one member said.

The event began with a variety of performances presented by Dong-Ah Institute of Media and Arts students. Almost 300 students from local middle and high schools also joined the event.

“It’s sad to see them getting old,” Ahn Shin-kwon, the director of the House of Sharing, said. “But we are happy that they maintain their health.”

The director criticized Abe. “He chose not to face history when he was addressing the U.S. Congress; but, this reaffirmed our clear goal, which is to make the Japanese government make an official apology.”

Lee Yong-soo, 87, another survivor who flew to Washington D.C. to undermine Abe’s visit last week, did not attend the event.

Japan denies it orchestrated approximately 200,000 women from Asia to provide sex to its troops during the war. Abe referred to these women as victims of sexual trafficking.