Images of “Comfort Women” Survivors at the Time of Their Rescue by Allied Force, as Seen in a Chinese Magazine

In September 1944, Private Charles H. Hatfield of the US Army’s 164th Signal Photo Company took a “well-known” war photograph on the frontline of Songshan, Yunnan Province, China. Released under the title “A Heavily Pregnant ‘Comfort Woman,’” the image depicts four women alongside a Chinese soldier. Based on their attire and appearance, they are presumed to be from the Korean Peninsula. The four women, with haggard faces and anxious expressions, stand in sharp contrast to the smiling Chinese-American military intelligence officer. One woman, in particular, draws immediate attention—the figure on the far right, visibly pregnant. Struggling to stay upright, she leans against a mound of dirt, her hands pressing down for support, her face contorted in pain. It was only later that her identity was confirmed—she was Park Young-sim, a Korean woman who had been forced into sexual slavery as a Japanese Military “Comfort Woman.”

The “Full-term Pregnant ‘Comfort Woman’ Victim” in Allied Forces’ Photos

At the time, Park Young-sim had barely escaped a Japanese military outpost in Songshan, Yunnan Province, risking her life alongside other captives. Exhausted and under extreme stress, she began bleeding heavily and tragically suffered a miscarriage. After being rescued, she was immediately transported to the 8th Army Field Hospital of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, where she underwent emergency surgery to remove the stillborn fetus and narrowly survived. Following her recovery in Baoshan, Yunnan Province, Park Young-sim was transferred to Kunming along with approximately 30 other Korean “Comfort Women,” their futures uncertain.

After Japan officially declared its unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945, Park Young-sim and the other survivors were repatriated to Korea the following year. For decades, their tragic experiences seemed to fade into history. However, in 1991, when Kim Hak-sun, a victim of the Japanese military “Comfort Women” system, broke her silence and publicly testified, the brutal truth about the “Comfort Women” system began to emerge. Investigations into the issue were carried out in various countries, including China, Korea, and Japan. As more survivors found the courage to share their stories, Park Young-sim joined them in speaking out. The overwhelming testimonies and mounting evidence confirmed that the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” system was a heinous war crime that severely violated women’s rights, bringing the issue to the forefront of international human rights discussions.

In December 2000, the international community convened the “Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on the Trial of Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery” in Tokyo, Japan, to adjudicate the wartime sexual violence crimes committed by the Japanese military. Park Young-sim traveled to Tokyo to attend the tribunal, but upon seeing a bathrobe in her accommodation, she was reminded of the kimono she had been forced to wear at the comfort station. Overcome with emotion, she found herself unable to eat or speak, and her testimony was ultimately replaced by a video recording. However, through the video, she vividly exposed the atrocities of the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” system. In November 2003, Park Young-sim visited Nanjing and Songshan in Yunnan, China, where she made a historic contribution by directly identifying the former sites of Japanese military comfort stations. On December 1, 2015, the Nanjing Museum of the Site of Lijixiang Comfort Station, the world’s largest memorial dedicated to the “Comfort Women” issue, officially opened at the very site Park Young-sim had identified in Nanjing. Since then, the museum has worked tirelessly to collect evidence of the crimes committed under the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” system, including tracing the life trajectories of Park Young-sim and her fellow victims.

A New Lead Uncovered After a Decade of Effort

After nearly a decade of persistent effort, the Nanjing Museum of the Site of Lijixiang Comfort Station uncovered a new lead regarding Park Young-sim. The discovery came from an article published in the magazine “Da Zhan Hua Ji” on June 25, 1945, titled “Women Captured in Yunnan After Being Forced to Serve as Japanese Military ‘Comfort Women’ Reveal How They Were Deceived.” The article provides a detailed account of how young women from the Korean Peninsula were coerced and transported to Yunnan as Japanese Military “Comfort Women,” as well as the harrowing experiences they endured at the Songshan outpost.

According to the article, in the spring of 1942, the Japanese went to villages where women lived and deceived the women into believing they were recruiting for the “Women’s Auxiliary Corps” (妇女辅助队) to assist the Japanese military in Singapore. Enticed by promises of safety and the opportunity to earn money, young girls from impoverished farming families saw it as a chance to support their families. Trusting these assurances, the women volunteered and boarded ships, dreaming of a better future in Nanyang. However, their destination was not Singapore but Myanmar, where instead of a safe job, they were met with brutal violence from the Japanese military. Ultimately, they were transported to the Japanese military outpost in Songshan, Yunnan Province, where they endured unimaginable abuse. By the time Chinese forces reclaimed Songshan, only ten of the original 24 “Comfort Women” had survived.

The article was accompanied by a photograph. The ten women in the photo were “Comfort Women” victims rescued by Chinese forces during the Battle of Songshan in September 1944. Among them, one was Japanese, while the remaining nine were Korean. After nearly a year of recovery, their appearances and physiques had changed somewhat from when they were first rescued, but they all wore bright expressions. Notably, Park Young-sim can be identified as the second woman from the left in the front row. In the photo, she is faintly smiling, suggesting that she felt a sense of relief and happiness at the time it was taken.

One Year of Recovery: Women with Smiles

In September 1944, the U.S. Army’s 164th Signal Photo Company captured numerous photos and videos of the battle of Songshan. These visual records have been carefully preserved. When the photograph of the ten women published in “Da Zhan Hua Ji” was compared with U.S. military footage, it was confirmed that they also appeared in other videos. This indicates that all of them survived and recovered their health after being rescued, including Park Young-sim, who had undergone surgery. At the time of their rescue, the “Comfort Women” victims were in a dire state—some wore tattered clothes, while others had bloodied faces. However, in the post-rescue photographs, the fear, humiliation, and distress evident in the original U.S. military footage had completely disappeared. Instead, they appeared calm and at ease. When they were first rescued, they must have been terrified, uncertain if another nightmare awaited them. Fortunately, despite their suffering, these women found hope again with the help of Chinese soldiers and local residents. Although the war had yet to end, their smiles in the photograph reflected a quiet optimism for the future. Whether they were Japanese or Korean “Comfort Women,” they all undoubtedly shared a single, desperate wish: “I just want to go home as soon as possible!”

<Article and Translation of “Da Zhan Hua Ji” (大战画集)>

 

“Comfort Women” Captured as Prisoners in Western Yunnan (滇西), China
 - They Speak Out About How They Were Deceived- 

During the Battle of the Songjiang (松江) River along the Nujiang (怒江) River front lines, Chinese military forces captured a unique kind of “war spoil”: ten Japanese Military “Comfort Women.” Among them were both Japanese and Korean women. For the past three months, these women had been living with enemy troops engaged in the Battle of Songshan (松山)—a major battle that took place in the Songshan region during China’s War of Resistance Against Japan.
Traces of Japanese Military “Comfort Women” were found at various Japanese army outposts along the Nujiang River front lines. On one occasion, in the Tengchong (騰沖) area, the brutality of the Japanese forces was revealed. When a Japanese munitions depot exploded, a Korean “Comfort Woman” was buried alive—yet the Japanese soldiers present did nothing but watch.
Of the ten Japanese Military “Comfort Women” captured by the Chinese army on this occasion, four were Korean. Aged between 24 and 27, they were dressed in Western-style clothing that appeared quite fashionable. According to them, all of these garments had been purchased in Singapore.
They sat comfortably on low chairs, smoking American cigarettes, slowly regaining stability after the trauma they had endured over the past several months of war.
All four Korean women were from rural areas in Pyongyang, Korea. In the spring of 1942, a Japanese political official came to their village and tried to persuade them with enticing lies. He claimed that the Japanese military was invincible, that they were recruiting a “Women’s Auxiliary Corps” to be sent to Singapore for entirely safe, non-combat duties, and that the city—located in the secure rear lines—would only require them to work in hospitals as nurses. Although these sweetened promises failed to fully convince them, the women were in urgent need of money. One of them, for example, had a father who was a farmer. He had injured his leg in a fall but couldn’t afford medical treatment. To cover the cost of his care, she felt she had no choice but to enlist. She intended to use the 1,500 yuan settlement payment she would receive upon enlisting to cover her father’s medical expenses.

They Were Deceived into Coming Here in Search of a Livelihood…
Of the 24 Women Taken, 14 Lost Their Lives

In June 1942, 18 Korean women, most of whom were facing similarly desperate circumstances, left Korea and were sent to the Nanyang region. On the way, they were bombarded with grandiose propaganda: that the Japanese military was achieving victory everywhere, and that a great East Asian empire was about to be established. However, when they realized the train had passed through Singapore without stopping, a sense of unease set in. As it continued northward from Yangon, Myanmar, they began to grasp the bleak reality of what awaited them. Upon arriving in the Songshan region, four of the Korean women were placed under the supervision of a 35-year-old Japanese Military “Comfort Woman.” This woman, too, was later captured during the war and became a prisoner of war (she is pictured at the lower left in the photograph).
Including the four Korean women, a total of 24 women were held by the Japanese military unit stationed in the Songshan region. They were also forced to perform arduous labor—washing soldiers’ laundry, cooking meals, and cleaning the caves in the mountain encampments. When Chinese forces launched their attack on Songshan, the women endured the horrors of war alongside the Japanese troops, and 14 of the 24 “Comfort Women” were killed in the bombings. The Japanese military authorities had repeatedly warned them that, if captured by Chinese forces, they would suffer unbearable humiliation. Initially, the women believed these threats and, fearing for the safety of their families back home, refused to reveal their real names. However, after two years of hardship under Japanese military control, they all said that any trust they had once placed in the words of the Japanese forces had completely vanished.

▼Footage showing the rescue of “Comfort Women” victims, including Park Young-sim. It is believed to have been filmed in 1944 by Sergeant Edward Fay of the U.S. Army’s 164th Signal Photo Company. (Source: KBS News)▼