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The late Park Yeong-sim and other comfort women survivors are rescued by Allied forces during the Pacific War. (provided by KBS)

On May 28, the Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) aired rare footage showing US and Chinese forces rescuing Korean survivors of sexual slavery under the Japanese military, known as “comfort women,” at Mount Song in China’s Yunnan Province during the Pacific War in September 1944. Also seen in the video was the late Park Yeong-sim, who had drawn attention among the comfort women survivors for being in the late stages of pregnancy at the time. While some documents and photographs related to Korean comfort women had been available before, observers are calling the footage a rare and valuable historical record.

Park and another comfort woman survivor at the time of her rescue by US and Chinese troops. (provided by KBS)

The video discovered and shown by KBS lasts 54 seconds and shows a group including Park being rescued by US and Chinese Allies. KBS said the video “appears to have been filmed on Sept. 7, 1944,” noting that this was “the day US and Chinese forces brought down a Japanese stronghold at Mount Song after 100 days of fighting.” According to the explanation, the Korean comfort women survivors were found by the Allies after they fled a comfort station, where the remaining Japanese soldiers at the stronghold had committed suicide.

Park Yeong-sim, who can be seen in the video, was previously known for a photograph showing her late in pregnancy. In 2000, Park confirmed that she was the one seen in the photograph. Living in North Korea, she played a leading role in denouncing atrocities committed by the Japanese forces before she passed away in Pyongyang in 2006. She is believed to have been 22 at the time the footage was filmed, and her belly clearly shows the later stages of pregnancy. After she sees the rejoicing Allies crying “hurrah,” her dazed expression disappears and she cries “hurrah” back. The video shows other comfort women survivors besides Park. One survivor of indeterminate nationality has a heavily swollen eye, suggesting a possible injury.

KBS explained, “This footage was discovered at the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) by the production team for our network’s ‘Docu Insight,’ which we happened upon while looking for records related to Korean history for the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War.”

“[The footage] was examined by authoritative experts, who confirmed that the individuals in the video were Park Yeong-sim and other comfort women survivors,” it added.

By Moon Hyun-sook, media correspondent

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]