hankyoreh

The Statue of Peace in Berlin’s Mitte borough on July 19, 2024. (Jang Ye-ji/Hankyoreh)

While the fate of a Berlin memorial to victims of the “comfort women” system of sexual slavery is in jeopardy as it’s threatened with removal, a German broadcaster reported that the mayor of Berlin allegedly pressured relevant authorities to cut funding for a local civic group’s educational program on the “comfort women” out of concern over a possible conflict with the Japanese government. Ultimately, the group’s application for funding for the project was rejected, raising suspicions over possible involvement by the Japanese Embassy.

German public broadcaster Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), reported Saturday (local time) that Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner played a role in the rejection of civic group Korea Verband’s application for a grant of 87,000 euros (US$94,900) to be used for its project to educate young people about wartime sexual violence, including the “comfort women” system.   

The broadcaster cited an anonymous source to report that Wegner contacted a member of the advisory board that has the final say on whether projects receive funding from the city or not and urged them to reject Korea Verband’s application in view of a possible conflict with the Japanese government. The RBB also stated that “several anonymous sources” confirmed that statement.

Korea Verband applied for funding through the Berlin Project Fund for Cultural Education but was rejected in April.

Projects receive funding after being recommended by a jury of artists and educators and the final decision falls to an advisory board. The board of 11 people includes members from within and outside the government, such as senators of Berlin. According to the article, Korea Verband’s project was initially recommended by the jury.

However, the project failed to pass the advisory board’s vote, which took place after Wegner reportedly contacted a member of the advisory board. Ultimately, Korea Verband failed to receive funding.

When the RBB asked the Senate Chancellery about the state of events, it commented, “The decisions of the project fund are made jointly and by a majority vote; the committee is not public. Accordingly, decisions made there are not commented on or evaluated.”

However, according to records viewed by the Hankyoreh, the city of Berlin stated on July 26 that the project was “discussed from various perspectives” and the issue was “treated with utmost care as the city of Berlin considers the issue of sexual violence against women to be incredibly important,” when SPD lawmaker Marcel Hopp asked for an explanation behind the rejection.

In May, shortly after Korea Verband’s funding application fell through, Wegner met Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and stated that it was “important to make changes,” hinting at the removal of the Statue of Peace and making his stance on the controversy clear.

The article also revealed the Japanese Embassy’s attempts to influence the board’s decision to reject the project’s funding, with anonymous sources revealing that the embassy invited several of the board’s members to a meal at a five-star hotel on Potsdamer Platz.

The sources confirmed that “the embassy’s cultural attaché initially showed interest in the cultural work of the committee members, but then changed the subject and tried to convince the members to vote against Korea Verband’s educational project.”

While the members invited to the dinner voted in favor of Korea Verband’s project, board members associated with the Berlin Senate voted against it, leading to the proposal ultimately being rejected, the RBB noted.

The Japanese Embassy in Berlin did not offer an official position on the invitation to the aforementioned banquet. However, the embassy did tell RBB that the Korea Verband uses the project “to spread a one-sided narrative.”

“Young Germans who do not have much knowledge of Asia are thus being instilled with anti-Japanese sentiment,” the embassy added.

Korea Verband had applied for funding from the Berlin city government for a project named “Sit Next to Me,” which would be an extension of the funding they’ve received from 2021 to the first half of this year. The project was founded on the idea of educating German teenagers about the history of the victims of the “comfort women” system who broke their silence on sexual violence. 

The program takes students to the Statute of Peace that Korea Verband erected in Berlin’s Mitte borough. It also funds collaborative projects with artists who seek to shed light on wartime sexual violence. Normally funded through individual donations from private Berlin citizens, Korea Verband has turned to the city government to alleviate its financial troubles and sponsor educational programs. The organization is also planning collaborative projects with youth organizations representing six of Berlin’s eight boroughs. 

“I knew about pressure from the Japanese government to take down the statue, but I did not know they were trying to interfere with our educational programs,” said Nataly Jung-hwa Han, the chairwoman of Korea Verband.

“German politicians have also become accomplices to the Japanese government, which is even more disappointing,” Han added.  

By Jang Ye-ji, Berlin correspondent

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