French cartoon festival highlights sex slavery victims

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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Tue, September 26, 2023 | 02:37

French cartoon festival highlights sex slavery victims

日보수지 "한국의 軍위안부 선전, 프랑스에 침투"

Posted : 2014-02-02 16:19

Updated : 2014-02-02 16:19

People look at comic strips featuring women forced into wartime sex slavery by Japan during World War II at the Angouleme Theatre during the Angouleme International Comics Festival in France, Saturday. In the right photo, Minister of Gender Equality and Family Cho Yoon-sun speaks at the opening ceremony of the wartime sex slavery exhibition under the title "Flowers That Never Fade."
/ Courtesy of Ministry of Gender Equality and Family

By Kang Hyun-kyung

A special exhibition about Korean women forced into sexual slavery during World War II attracted nearly 17,000 visitors during the four-day Angouleme International Comics Festival in France.

On Sunday, Minister of Gender Equality and Family Cho Yoon-sun welcomed the event for helping raise international awareness of the tragedy of wartime victims.

"The power of art is enormous. I feel vindicated that the wartime sex slavery issue has become a universal wartime human rights issue through the art of comics at this festival," Cho was quoted by the ministry as saying.

The minister promised that she would continue to try and raise the issue at the international level through diverse forms of art.

Korean artists displayed some 20 comic strips, cartoons and video clips under the title "Flowers That Never Fade" at the world's largest cartoon festival that ran from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2.

According to the ministry, Japan put pressure on the organizing committee to scrap the special exhibition featuring "comfort women," the ephemeral expression for sex slaves.

Conservative Japanese people also attempted to set up a booth nearby to counter Korean victims' testimony regarding their sufferings.

However, the festival authorities didn't heed the Japanese call to scrap the comfort women exhibition and also removed the right-wing Japanese booth Wednesday, a day before the opening of the festival.

Frank Bondoux, chairman of the festival, and Philippe Lavard, mayor of Angouleme City, participated in the opening ceremony of the comfort women exhibition.

During a press briefing, Bondoux confirmed the Japanese attempt to disrupt the comfort women exhibition.

"Despite the mounting pressure we, the organizing committee of the festival, decided to hold the special exhibition mainly because the goal of the comfort women exhibition is for peace," he was quoted as saying by the ministry.

"I hope that this exhibition can help those who are responsible for the wartime crime repent for their past misdeeds, and that it can help end violence against women."

Bondoux noted that France, along with the rest of Europe, consider World War I and II to be the worst conflicts ever in history and therefore maintain a critical stance toward them.

Nicolas Finet, the editorial manager and Asia coordinator of the Angouleme festival, refuted the allegation that the comfort women exhibition was politically motivated.

"Raising awareness of a particular historical fact which has yet to be known to the public is not a politically motivated act. But, such an attempt aimed at distorting history is political," he said.

Since last year, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has pushed for the comfort women exhibition at the renowned festival, as Angouleme was prepared to highlight the cruelty of war on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of the outbreak of World War I.

Cho is the first cabinet member to attend the four-day festival.

She stepped up efforts to raise the international community's awareness of Japan's wartime crimes through the event.

During her visit to France, she met French Sen. Michele Andre, who is familiar with the comfort women issue, on Wednesday to ask for her cooperation to raise international awareness about the matter.

Andre has been active in the fight against violence toward women.

The French lawmaker promised to discuss the comfort women issue with her colleagues and fight for wartime women's rights.

日보수지 "한국의 軍위안부 선전, 프랑스에 침투"

일본군 위안부의 피해 실상을 알리는 만화가 '2014 프랑스 앙굴렘국제만화페스티벌'에서 전시 중인 것에 관해 보수성향의 일본 산케이(産經)신문은 1일 주최 측이 한국에 편파적으로 행사를 운영하고 있다며 일본 측의 주장을 옹호했다.

산케이는 한국 측 만화에 맞서 전시 중인 일본 측 만화가 정치성을 이유로 철거당했다고 전하면서 '문화행사여야 하는데 주최 측이 한국을 우대하는 정치색을 반영한 것이 됐다'고 비판했다.

이 신문은 일본군 위안부에 관한 한국 만화를 보고 '독일과 프랑스에도 전쟁 중에 같은 것이 있었다'고 반응한 관람객을 냉정한 수용자라고 규정했다.

반면 '이런 역사가 있는 것을 처음 알았다','충격을 받았다' 등의 소감을 밝힌 이들을 거론하며 한국의 전시물을 무비판적으로 받아들이는 관람객이 있다고 보도했다.

산케이는 일본 측 만화 전시인 '반론프로젝트'를 추진한 후지이 미쓰히코(藤井實彦) 실행위원장의 인터뷰를 지면에 싣기도 했다.

또 '비방 중상에 사실로 반론을'이라는 제목의 사설로 위안부 동원의 강제성을 인정한 고노(河野) 담화가 엉터리 조사에 근거했다는 주장을 되풀이했다.

다른 주요 신문은 일본 측 만화 철거에 관한 일본 외무성 발표 등을 전하거나 관련 뉴스를 다루지 않았다. (연합뉴스)

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr