Busts of women who were incarcerated by the colonial government and the Imperial Japanese military into sexual slavery as ‘comfort women’ are set up in Gwangju, east of Seoul. (House of Sharing)

Busts of women who were incarcerated by the colonial government and the Imperial Japanese military into sexual slavery as ‘comfort women’ are set up in Gwangju, east of Seoul. (House of Sharing)

By Min Yea-Ji and Kim Min-Jeung

The Korean government will commemorate the first International Memorial Day for Comfort Women on Aug. 14.

Prior to the designation, victims of sexual slavery from colonial times and World War II were commemorated worldwide through private initiatives. Comfort Women Day was officially designated by the government in November 2017 as a means to restore dignity and honor to the victims of colonial and wartime sexual slavery and to remember the range of “comfort women” issues.

An official ceremony hosted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will be held at the National Mang-Hyang Cemetery in Cheonan, where 49 victims, including Kim Hak-soon, who made the first-ever public testimony in 1991, are buried. An unveiling ceremony of a memorial monument, the House of Rest, will also take place there.

From Aug. 13 to 21, the Korea Film Archive will exhibit drawings by the victims and screen a movie about sexual slavery during colonial times and World War II.

The National Gugak Center will host a performance on Aug. 14 titled “An Arirang for a Little Girl” to commemorate the nation’s painful history and to honor the victims with traditional music, dance and the song “Arirang.”

The House of Sharing will publish a book that tells the story of the late Kim Soon-deok, “My Name is Not ‘Comfort Woman.’ I am Kim Soon-deok.” on Aug. 11. The book outlines the late Kim Soon-deok’s hardships and her testimony both in Korea and overseas. Ahn Shin Kwon, the head of the House of Sharing, said, “The surviving victims of sexual slavery are now fewer in number and too old to act. We plan to publish a book every year that tells each one of their stories.”

It has been 27 years since the late Kim Hak-soon made her public testimony, but there are still problems that need to be solved regarding their incarceration during colonial times and World War II. Thus, commemorations across the nation will take place on Aug. 14 to raise awareness of the pain and calamities of history.

jesimin@korea.kr