Webzine-KYEOL │ Research Institute on Japanese Military Sexsual Slavery (RIMSS)

Current Issue Sexual Violence against Jewish Women during the Holocaust and Afterward

This article foregrounds the long-overlooked sexual violence perpetrated against Jewish women during the Holocaust. It calls for fuller integration of survivors’ testimonies of sexual violence into our understanding of Holocaust history and prompts recognition of the ongoing reality of conflict-related sexual violence today.

Rochelle G. Saidel

Activism The Meaning of the Berlin Statue of Peace for Us: A Global Case of Success in the Postcolonial Feminist Movement

The Berlin Statue of Peace, established in 2020, marked an important milestone in the “Comfort Women” memorial movement as the first public memorial of its kind in Europe.

Jung-Hwa Han

Historical Memory “Comfort Girls”: The Forgotten Tragedy of Child Exploitation

The “Comfort Women” system was not only a violation of women’s rights, but also a grave infringement of children’s rights. In this article, Professor Ñusta Carranza Ko examines how imperial Japanese authorities systematically violated the rights of underage girls, in direct contravention of international conventions of the time, reframing the issue as a case of child rights violations.

Ñusta Carranza Ko

Education Educating Difficult Histories and the Case of the “Comfort Women”

The Contested Histories Initiative (CHI) is a Europe-based NGO dedicated to studying disputes over historical memorials in public spaces and promoting critical engagement with them. CHI’s Program Director, Paula O’Donohoe, spoke with Kyeol about the organization’s work and its engagement with the “Comfort Women” issue.

Paula O’Donohoe

Activism Tackling Contested Histories for a Deeper Understanding of the Past and Present

The Contested Histories Initiative (CHI) is a Europe-based NGO dedicated to studying disputes over historical memorials in public spaces and promoting critical engagement with them. CHI’s Program Director, Paula O’Donohoe, spoke with Kyeol about the organization’s work and its broader vision.

Paula O’Donohoe

Culture Art as a Messenger of Women’s Stories

Rose Camastro-Pritchett’s “Comfort Women” project uses art to honor the dignity and strength of survivors of wartime sexual violence. Inspired by her research and personal experiences, she creates intimate, respectful works that connect historical trauma to ongoing conversations about gender-based violence today.

Rose Camastro-Pritchett

Activism My Mother Is More Than A Comfort Woman: A Storybook of the Lolas from Their Daughters’ Perspectives

My Mother Is More Than A Comfort Woman is a storybook that presents the experiences of Filipino “Comfort Women” survivors through the eyes of their daughters and a granddaughter.

Naoko Okimoto (沖本直子)

#Naoko Okimoto

[사진 2] 통곡의 벽 서쪽에 마련된 희생자 묘지에는 다양한 집단의 희생자를 기억하는 추모비들 이 서있다. 사진은 성 강제노동 희생자 추모비이다.

Historical Memory Visiting the Memorial Museum Ravensbrück, the Site of the Largest Women’s Concentration Camp under Nazi Germany

The irony is that Germany, which is often hailed as a “model” country for past liquidation by providing compensation to victims of wartime forced labor through government-industry collaboration, did not even include women forced into sexual slavery in the category of victims entitled to such compensation and still does not recognize their legal victim status.

Jung Yong Suk