By Kim Se-jeong
The National Assembly is considering setting up a state-funded research institute dedicated to the victims of sexual slavery under the Japanese military before and during World War II.
It will be the first state-run center studying sex slavery — there are several private museums and other facilities — officials from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Thursday.
The Assembly Gender Equality and Family Committee recently submitted a report on the issue, suggesting that it is necessary to launch a state-sponsored center to accumulate historical records on the issue, which will contribute to the work of UNESCO’s Memory of the World.
“The project will begin as soon as the plan receives budgetary committee approval at the Assembly,” an official said.
Records about sexual slavery, currently kept by many institutions and individuals, will be gathered at the research institute. Some of them will be on display to educate children about peace and human rights.
The Assembly’s plan was unveiled only a couple of days after a bilateral summit between Korea and Japan earlier this week in Seoul where the two leaders agreed to resolve the issue. But there was no timetable mentioned, which drew a backlash from the victims who have already waited decades to have the issue settled.
Almost 200,000 women across Asia are believed to have suffered from being forced into sex slavery before and during World War II. Of the Korean victims, who were the majority, only 47 are still alive.
For the victims in Korea, NGOs and the government had demanded an official apology and compensation, but the Japanese government has said these women were prostitutes who joined the war voluntarily to make money.
The ministry has also sponsored scholars and civic groups to conduct research and collect evidence about forced sexual slavery.
The government also tried to open a memorial hall last year, but the plan was scrapped because it couldn’t find a suitable location.
In the private sector, the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan has worked to support the victims, running its own archive of photos and documents and holding weekly protests outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.
The House of Sharing, an independently-run shelter, is home to 10 of the victims, who have testified about their plight to people who visit the shelter.