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.
