hankyoreh

Korean-Japanese singer performs on outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul

“Today is the day of remembrance for the comfort women, but tomorrow is Liberation Day,” said Yoon Mi-hyang, a co-representative of the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Jeongdaehyeop). “I feel like the blood that was shed by so many people to liberate the country and the voices that the former comfort women have raised in the streets will all be in vain because of the South Korean government and its inept foreign policy.”

There was both despondency and anger in Yoon’s voice as she spoke on Aug. 14, amid reports stating that the Japanese government had made clear to the South Korean government that the 1 billion yen that it will be paying to the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation this month does not constitute compensation.

Since 2013, Jeongdaehyeop has declared Aug. 14 as the day of world remembrance for the comfort women and held events on the day to carry on the mission of the late Kim Hak-sun, the first comfort woman to testify to the truth of the comfort women 25 years ago.

Despite the heat wave and scattered showers, around 800 people (according to police estimates) attended the Butterfly Festival – officially, “Global Action on the 4th Day of Remembrance for Comfort Women around the World” – which took place in front of the Japanese Embassy in the Jongno District of Seoul.

“The Dec. 28 agreement is invalid! Let’s find our own way to achieve liberation,” people at the festival said.

“People are saying that the money the Japanese government is paying isn’t compensation but is consolation money or something, but we haven’t been carrying on our struggle for decades for a few pennies of that money,” said Kim Bok-dong, 91, one of the former comfort women who attended the event.

“If [Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo] Abe will admit what the Japanese did, ask us to forgive them, restore our reputations, pay legal compensation and apologize, we are ready even now to forgive them,” Kim said. “It’s infuriating that the South Korean government makes an agreement unilaterally and then expects us to accept it unconditionally.”

“Why would we need any money?” said Kim, who was the first to speak at the event. “Even now, we are living in comfort with the assistance of the public and of women’s organizations.”

Gil Won-ok, another former comfort woman, was also present at the event.

On Sunday, comedian Kim Mi-hwa announced that she would be donating the entire 10.86 million won (US$9,839) in the Korean Women’s Association United- Kim Mi-hwa Fund to the Justice and Memory Foundation, which was established with the help of the public.

This fund was set up by South Koreans to help out Kim after she was sued by South Korean broadcaster KBS for defamation over her “blacklist” remark. In Aug. 2010, Kim accused KBS of maintaining a list of celebrities who were banned from appearing on KBS programs.

“Rather than using the money in the fund for my lawsuit, I would rather give it to a more important cause,” Kim said.

The participants at the Butterfly Cultural Event released a declaration of peace that included four resolutions that called, among other things, for scrapping the agreement between South Korea and Japan, shutting down the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation and rejecting war and violence against women. This led to a concert for peace that contained songs and dances by students at Ewha Womans University and by Lee Jeong-mi, a Japanese singer of Korean descent.

On the same day, unveiling ceremonies were held for new comfort woman statues not only in Seoul but also in Gimpo and Osan in Gyeonggi Province and in Gwangju.

By Kim Mee-hyang and Park Soo-jin, staff reporters

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