hankyoreh

With temperatures dropping to -15 degrees and a wind chill of -23 in the early morning hours of Jan. 19

On Jan. 18, a piece of registered mail was delivered to the office of the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Jeongdaehyeop), in the Mapo District of Seoul. On the corner where the sender’s address normally goes, the envelope only said, “An owner of the Republic of Korea.”

Inside the envelope, there was a letter, written on six pages of A4 paper, and a money order for 105,000 won (US$86.74).

the first contribution in a campaign of citizen donations the organization hopes will extend to one million people. (provided by Jeongdaehyeop)

In the letter, the sender described how his business had gone under 12 years ago and how he had been working as a designated driver since 2006. “For several days after the negotiations with Japan, I was full of anger, but at last I decided to stop being angry and to do what I could to put my beliefs into practice. That’s why I’m sending the money,” the man said.

105,000 won was the entire sum that he made on the first day of 2016.

“If you organize a fundraising campaign to raise money from the Korean people instead of accepting the 1 billion yen (US$8.30 million) promised by the Japanese government, I’ll keep donating,” the man added.

Since Seoul and Tokyo reached a settlement about the comfort women issue on Dec. 28, a number of Koreans have been generously lending a hand, determined to do something to help the former comfort women achieve genuine rehabilitation of their reputations.

These people want to help out the Justice and Memory Foundation that civic groups have said will reject the 1 billion yen the Japanese government is supposed to donate and will be responsible for looking after the comfort women and conducting a thorough investigation into the comfort women system.

young people staging a sit-in to protect the comfort woman statue opposite the Japanese embassy cover themselves with large plastic sheets in an effort to endure the cold.

On Jan. 19, the Committee to Promote the Justice and Memory Foundation for the Imperial Japanese Army’s Comfort Women announced that 529 people had already donated 52.04 million won (US$43,000) in the five days since it launched the campaign to raise money to take care of the women and look into their experiences.

On Jan. 14, 383 civic groups and 335 individuals agreed to launch a national campaign to force the South Korean government to withdraw from its settlement with Japan on the comfort women issue and to achieve a just solution to the issue. They also decided to set up the Justice and Memory Foundation Promotion Committee to assist with efforts to thoroughly investigate the comfort women issue.

The committee is recruiting a million people to form a foundation investment group, with each person participating by donating at least 10,000 won (US$8.25).

The first person to participate in the donation drive was Kim Bok-dong, herself one of the former comfort women. Vowing not to take the 1 billion yen from the Japanese government unless it was in the form of legal reparations, Kim donated 1 million won (US$825) to the Justice and Memory Foundation on Jan. 15.

Former comfort woman Kim Bok-dong donated 1 million won (US$825) to the Committee to Promote the Justice and Memory Foundation for the Imperial Japanese Army’s Comfort Women

The students of a history club called “Hand Axe” at Ewha Girls’ High School - the same students who personally set up a statue of the young girl symbolizing the comfort women at the Franciscan Education Center in central Seoul in Nov. 2015 - also sent 1 million won to the committee on Jan. 18.

Recognized for their work in setting up the statue, the club members won the grand prize in the “Green Growth” contest, organized by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The club then used the award it received as seed money for establishing the foundation.

Donations have been pouring in from inside and outside the country, with a Japanese man named Takashi Ozawa and his wife asking if the drive was open to Japanese as well and indicating their desire to donate.

“We’ve learned that it’s not just the former comfort women and a few other people who recognize the problems with South Korea and Japan’s settlement, but also various people from all walks of life,” said Yoon Mee-hyang, co-representative of Jeongdaehyeop. “We will use the precious money donated by the public to establish the foundation, which will carry out an investigation, preserve records, set up more statues, and continue our educational programs.”

The fund is accepting donations at its bank account: KB Bank 069101-04-204213 under the name Justice and Memory Foundation (정의기억재단). For more information, call 02-365-4016.

By Kim Mi-hyang, staff reporter

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