Students protecting comfort women statue hope to create national movement

Posted on : 2016-01-29 17:45 KST Modified on : 2016-01-29 17:45 KST
Seeking the nullification of the Dec. 28 settlement between S. Korea and Japan, the group also aims to protect comfort women statues around the country
Members of the University Student Countermeasures Committee for Invalidation of the South Korea-Japan Military Comfort Women Agreement cover themselves with plastic sheeting to protect against strong winds during the 20th day of their sit-in protest around the comfort women statue
Members of the University Student Countermeasures Committee for Invalidation of the South Korea-Japan Military Comfort Women Agreement cover themselves with plastic sheeting to protect against strong winds during the 20th day of their sit-in protest around the comfort women statue

Young South Koreans have been braving the fierce winter winds, protected by just a thin sheet of plastic, in order to guard a statue symbolizing the comfort women that stands opposite the Japanese embassy in Seoul. Now they are gearing up for “season two” of their efforts to protect the symbol.

New efforts for the campaign are to include rallying local citizens to guard similar statues around the country, while sending the message to politicians and the administration that the Dec. 28 agreement reached by the South Korean and Japanese foreign ministers on the comfort women issue is “null and void.”

“We are planning to go beyond protecting the statue and work toward kickstarting a national and popular commitment and actions to nullify the South Korea-Japan agreement fully,” stated the University Student Countermeasures Committee for Nullification of the South Korea-Japan Military Comfort Women Agreement on Jan. 28.

In a telephone interview with the Hankyoreh, the committee’s situation room director Jeong Su-yeon explained, “With a lot of people expressing support due to the statue, we thought more about what we could do as students, before eventually deciding to campaign to rally popular opinion to have the agreement overturned.”

While the methods may be different, the statue across from the Japanese embassy remains the group’s base. The current idea is to have students from 39 regions around the country with their own statues and monuments to the comfort women come together to form a “statue watchdogs’ network” to protect them, sharing information on the local situation and helping steer public opinion toward having the agreement invalidated. Plans include distributing small banners and stickers to visitors to the statue, which they can display in front of their homes. Nationwide demonstrations and parades to demand a just resolution on the comfort women issue are also being planned for the upcoming March 1st Movement holiday, which commemorates a reading of the Korean Declaration of Independence.

The active campaign comes despite heavy pressure from politicians and the administration.

“We’re planning to meet with representatives of the different parties around the Lunar New Year holiday [on Feb. 8] to demand that they state a clear position on the South Korea-Japan agreement and urge them to participate in an active campaign to have it invalidated,” said Jeong.

“We also plan to make particular efforts to denounce the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Minister responsible for the Dec. 28 agreement,” she added.

By Bang Jun-ho, staff reporter

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