At 93, Kim Bok-dong died as she had lived for many years: at the heart of the controversy over Japan’s use of forced labour in its wartime brothels. Kim, who died on Monday at a hospital in the South Korean capital of Seoul, was a fixture at weekly
At 93, Kim Bok-dong died as she had lived for many years: at the heart of the controversy over Japan’s use of forced labour in its wartime brothels.
Kim, who died on Monday at a hospital in the South Korean capital of Seoul, was a fixture at weekly protests outside the Japanese embassy calling for a sincere apology and compensation.
She remained angry at Japan until the end, her supporters said.
« She suddenly opened her eyes yesterday and told a long story… I couldn’t decipher everything but one thing I could hear clearly was that we had to fight until the end, » said Yoon Mee-hyang, who leads an advocate group for the women.
« Then she expressed strong anger toward Japan as she continued talking, before she regained her tranquillity, » Yoon told Reuters.
Kim was among the two dozen known surviving South Korean »comfort women », a Japanese euphemism for women who were forced into prostitution and sexually abused at Japanese military brothels before and during World War II.
