hankyoreh

Former comfort woman Kim Bok-dong was asked to speak to Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto about the revisionist history espoused by far-right Japanese politicians that denied that their government systemically forced women to serve as sex slaves for the Japanese military before and during World War II.

He said in July 2012, "Many Japanese historians are of the opinion that their government did not intentionally kidnap women for sex human trafficking."

She appeared next to his office to criticize him wearing a purple dress. The following year, she wore the same outfit while touring Japan to testify on her experience and at the weekly Wednesday protests in Seoul.

At Pyeonghwa-ro (Peace Road), next to the former Japanese Embassy in Seoul, a hat and sunglasses are musts for the Wednesday protest. At the site, a business card inscribed with "Women's rights activist Kim Bok-dong" and a photo showing her clad in a yellow vest with the text "Honor and human rights to grandmothers" symbolized the journey of her life.

Kim attended the United Nations Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva, Switzerland, using her UN entry card and her passport, filled with stamps from so many trips abroad. She courageously testified about her experience to raise global interest in the comfort women issue. Her actions led to efforts to achieve solidarity among victims of wartime sexual violence in Korea and worldwide.

On Jan. 28, 2019, Kim's passing lowered the number of surviving victims of her kind to 14.

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With the loss of each person who experienced such horrors firsthand, surviving comfort women felt a heavier pressure to carry on Kim's legacy and fight. On the occasion of the international day to remember the victims this year on Sunday, the need appears to see the items left behind by deceased victims to reflect on their efforts.

By Lee Jeong-a, staff photographer

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