SAN FRANCISCO — A surviving South Korean “comfort woman” went back to this city to witness the unveiling of memorial in honor of victims who suffered sexual abuses done to thousands women and SAN FRANCISCO — A surviving South Korean “comfort woman” went back to this city to…
SAN FRANCISCO — A surviving South Korean “comfort woman” went back to this city to witness the unveiling of memorial in honor of victims who suffered sexual abuses done to thousands women and girls like her from 13 Asia-Pacific countries by the Japanese Imperial Army Forces from the early 1930s to 1945. She had waited for this unveiling for two years.
The monument created by English-born sculptor Steven Whyte shows Grandma Haksoon Kim, the first victim who broke her silence in 1991, in a traditional Korean traditional dress, looking at three life-sized girl statues in traditional Korean, Chinese and Filipino dresses, holding hands on top of a cylinder. The memorial site is at the St. Mary’s Square Annex at California Street in San Francisco.
Yong-Soo Lee, fondly called “Grandma Lee,” flew in straight from South Korea. She profusely thanked everyone for the monument dedicated to “all our grandmothers who are alive, and all those who have passed on but are still with us in both spirit and memory,” said a Comfort Women Justice Coalition (CJWC) statement.
From 30 entries
In an interview, Whyte admitted knowing little about the existence of the comfort women before the competition he won over more than 30 entries from all over the globe. `
“I knew of the theme of the memorial but did not know of their suffering. So when we entered the competition, we did the research and I decided that this is something I wanted to win. And because it was local and the subject not easy to deal with, it was a challenge,” Whyte admitted.
“As to winning the competition, I was comfortable and happy with the design I submitted which, for me, is rare. I was just trying to get the story across and wanted people to look at the vulnerability of these girls and they survived with their strength.”
For her part, Grandma Lee, in a speech delivered in Korean and interpreted for her, stressed that the memorial is not just an issue for Korea, China and the Philippines, it is a universal human rights issue that affects everyone in the world.
“People are making so much effort to make this world a better place for everyone. This history issue is not one that just happened in the past.
