hankyoreh

Dec. 10. (by Yi Yong-in

As the cold wind blew through the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on the afternoon of Dec. 10, the “peace statue” of a young girl was wearing a white knit cap and wrapped in a scarf made of brown and white yarn.

“Now that the peace statue is here in Washington, help me ensure that it remains here permanently,” said Gil Won-ok, 89, who was forced to serve as a comfort woman for five years during the Japanese occupation of Korea, starting at the young age of 13.

“I travel the country telling people that there must not be another war and that our descendants must not suffer as we did. That’s why I came all the way here to the US,” Gil said during a ceremony held at the Sylvan Theater, an amphitheater at the National Mall, on Dec. 10 to welcome the comfort woman statue to Washington. More than 100 Korean-Americans attended the ceremony.

“I’d like to come another time, but I’m so old and worn-out that I don’t think I can make it again. I‘m asking you this favor. Please don’t forget the Korean women who were sacrificed in the war. Please help the comfort woman statue be a textbook for teaching peace and human rights to future generations,” Gil said.

“Washington is a city that respects diversity, culture and history. We will not avoid acknowledging incidents and tragedies from the past,” said Esther Kang, an aide to David Do, director of the city’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, as part of a speech she read on Do’s behalf. Do actively cooperated with the welcome ceremony for the comfort woman statue.

“The comfort woman statue is here to remind us of past wrongs and to bring us a historical understanding of what the victims and the survivors had to endure. The comfort woman statue serves both as a symbol of human rights and as a pledge that we will not let the past repeat itself,” Do’s speech said.

A ceremony marking the temporary unveiling of a comfort woman statue at the National Mall in Washington DC

The South Korean embassy in the US was not represented at the ceremony.

“We have to deal with the past in order to create a just future. I hope that comfort women statues will be installed all over the world,” said Lim Yo-sep, 30, who was in attendance. Lim was instrumental in setting up the comfort woman statue in Sydney, Australia, in August.

While it has been about a month since the comfort woman statue arrived in Washington, the search continues for its permanent home. That is why the statue was made public in a temporary unveiling ceremony on Dec. 10. The Washington Peace Statue Raising Committee said that it is contacting universities, churches and other major organizations in the city that might be willing to host the statue.

“Organizations have been hesitant to agree to host the statue because there are people who see the comfort women as a political issue. We’ll do our best to raise the statue by spring of next year,” said Jo Hyeon-suk, the committee’s joint-chair.

After the welcoming ceremony concluded, some of the participants held a rally in the same location and demanded the immediate resignation of President Park Geun-hye and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and the immediate disbandment of the Saenuri Party.

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent

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