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

Historical Memory A Story of Constant Struggle: The “Comfort Women” Issue in North Korea

Historian Harrison C. Kim traces how discourse on “Comfort Women” in North Korea has evolved—at times in dialogue with the outside world—while developing distinct advocacy practices and perspectives.

Cheehyung Harrison Kim

Culture No Longer Silenced!

A review of Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict, the UK’s first exhibition focusing on the issue of sexual violence during modern and contemporary global conflicts.

Nikolai Johnsen

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

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 3] 청팍옌 박사 가족이 소유했던 자란 주롱 케칠의 상가 건물은 일부가 과거 위안소로 사용되었다는 이유로 처음으로 보존 대상으로 선정됐다. (사진 제공:케빈 블랙번)

Historical Memory Characteristics of the Issue of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery in Singapore

Until 2022, when the book The Comfort Women of Singapore in History and Memory was published, it was widely thought in Singapore that there were no Singaporean "Comfort Women" who were sexually enslaved by the Japanese military.

Kevin Blackburn

Activism The Statue of Peace Arrives in Stintino, Italy, Carrying a Message of Human Rights and Peace

A story of Stintino’s commitment to justice and humanity, its focus on raising awareness and finding solutions to end violence against women, and the arrival of the Statue of Peace in the town.

Giuseppina De Nicola

Activism Voices of “Comfort Women”: A Global Civic Movement for Memory

The suffering of the Japanese Military “Comfort Women,” one of the most tragic human rights abuses of the 20th century, should be preserved and managed as historical documentary heritage. This is crucial to prevent such atrocities from recurring and provide a lesson to future generations.

Hye-in Han

[사진 1] 징 윌리엄스 교수(왼쪽)와 필리스 김 대표(오른쪽) ©popcon

Education “Teaching the ‘Comfort Women’ Issue in the U.S. Society: A Global Citizenship Education to Overcome Nation-Centrism”

Professor Jing Williams considers her education on the “Comfort Women” issue as “a process of planting seeds for the future,” recognizing that some of her students may become advocates for women’s human rights.

Jing Williams

Other Right-wing or Conscientious?

Takashi Machida

Current Issue Colabo’s Fights against Sexual Exploitation and Misogyny in Japan Today

Time and again, we have seen the pattern of distortions, misogyny, and gaslighting of victims of sexual violence and their advocates as corrupt and greedy money grabbers.

Sayaka Chatani

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