By Maija Devine
The COVID-19 crisis of seeing bodies piling up too furiously fast to be properly buried around the globe is sending shockwaves. Amid countless dire concerns, one must ask, how are the former Korean "comfort women" of WWII coping? Over 75 years ago, they survived a completely different kind of "pandemic" ― being rounded up by the Japanese military and shoved into brothels ("comfort stations") in over a dozen countries.
The House of Sharing blog (nanum.org), last updated in 2018, describes visits by staff to 16 Korean former sex slaves, living in various towns throughout South Korea. Since then, four of them have passed away (two deaths were reported in The New York Times, Jan. 29, 2019), leaving 12. Five other survivors live in the House of Sharing, a residential facility managed by the Museum of Sexual Slavery by the Japanese Military, located south of Seoul.
The former sex slaves are called "halmeoni" ("grandma" in Korean), as this familial title conveys human dignity and warmth ― unlike "comfort women" or "sex slaves." The five "grandmas" range in ages from 90 to 104.
The social isolation supported by the staff has reduced the number of visitors and so far kept the grandmas COVID free. Also, after the grandmas' devastating accusations of their leading support organization mishandling funds, the women are boycotting participation in the weekly Wednesday rallies held since 1992 in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. This change allows them a break from their high-profile life.
Two of the residents of the House suffer from Alzheimer's. Once an exceptionally warm-hearted person, one is now bed-ridden. Last March, holding my hands for a long time, she asked me to share her bowl of grapes. She delighted visitors by singing popular tunes such as "Tears at Mokpo Harbor." The other stricken grandma is still up and about. Not too long ago, she showed me her corn, cabbage and sesame seed plants in her vegetable garden.
While fervently wishing them all continued health, one cannot avoid reflecting again on the military "pandemic" carried out by Japan that forced a living hell on over 200,000 young women. According to the Testimonies of Comfort Women (as told in five volumes from the Korean Council for Women Drafted into Military Sexual Slavery, published between 1993 and 2003), each woman gritted her teeth through an average of 15 sex acts with Japanese soldiers daily ― and 45 to 50 over two-day weekends. Even if one takes drastically lower estimates ― considering conflicting views of scholars and the women's occasional downtimes for reasons, including gaps between the moving front lines and new arrivals of soldiers ― and go with only 5 times per a week day and 45 for the weekends, the total accounts for 70 times per week/3,640 per year. The House of Sharing residents' ages at the beginning of their lives as comfort women ranged from 27 to 12 years old.
What resilience! What "mooshoe mokseum" (iron necks)!
If the old saying, "inmyong jaechun" (life rests with heaven), holds true, heaven calls the shots on the timing of a human's life and death ― and these survivors have so far outlived WWII, the Korean War and the threat of nuclear apocalypse by North Korea. Now, they face COVID-19.
May all "grandmas," publicly known or not, living throughout the world, ride in their own sweet time, the "sweet chariots" to "swing low" for them ― long after COVID-19 bites the dust.
The writer is a lecturer of the Continuum College, University of Washington and author of "The Voices of Heaven," and a poetry book "Long Walks on Short Days. She can be reached at maijadevine@gmail.com.
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The House of Sharing blog (nanum.org), last updated in 2018, describes visits by staff to 16 Korean former sex slaves, living in various towns throughout South Korea. Since then, four of them have passed away (two deaths were reported in The New York Times, Jan. 29, 2019), leaving 12. Five other survivors live in the House of Sharing, a residential facility managed by the Museum of Sexual Slavery by the Japanese Military, located south of Seoul.
The former sex slaves are called "halmeoni" ("grandma" in Korean), as this familial title conveys human dignity and warmth ― unlike "comfort women" or "sex slaves." The five "grandmas" range in ages from 90 to 104.
The social isolation supported by the staff has reduced the number of visitors and so far kept the grandmas COVID free. Also, after the grandmas' devastating accusations of their leading support organization mishandling funds, the women are boycotting participation in the weekly Wednesday rallies held since 1992 in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. This change allows them a break from their high-profile life.
Two of the residents of the House suffer from Alzheimer's. Once an exceptionally warm-hearted person, one is now bed-ridden. Last March, holding my hands for a long time, she asked me to share her bowl of grapes. She delighted visitors by singing popular tunes such as "Tears at Mokpo Harbor." The other stricken grandma is still up and about. Not too long ago, she showed me her corn, cabbage and sesame seed plants in her vegetable garden.
While fervently wishing them all continued health, one cannot avoid reflecting again on the military "pandemic" carried out by Japan that forced a living hell on over 200,000 young women. According to the Testimonies of Comfort Women (as told in five volumes from the Korean Council for Women Drafted into Military Sexual Slavery, published between 1993 and 2003), each woman gritted her teeth through an average of 15 sex acts with Japanese soldiers daily ― and 45 to 50 over two-day weekends. Even if one takes drastically lower estimates ― considering conflicting views of scholars and the women's occasional downtimes for reasons, including gaps between the moving front lines and new arrivals of soldiers ― and go with only 5 times per a week day and 45 for the weekends, the total accounts for 70 times per week/3,640 per year. The House of Sharing residents' ages at the beginning of their lives as comfort women ranged from 27 to 12 years old.
What resilience! What "mooshoe mokseum" (iron necks)!
If the old saying, "inmyong jaechun" (life rests with heaven), holds true, heaven calls the shots on the timing of a human's life and death ― and these survivors have so far outlived WWII, the Korean War and the threat of nuclear apocalypse by North Korea. Now, they face COVID-19.
May all "grandmas," publicly known or not, living throughout the world, ride in their own sweet time, the "sweet chariots" to "swing low" for them ― long after COVID-19 bites the dust.
The writer is a lecturer of the Continuum College, University of Washington and author of "The Voices of Heaven," and a poetry book "Long Walks on Short Days. She can be reached at maijadevine@gmail.com.
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