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
The spread of “Comfort Women” memorials across different cities and countries offers insights into both possibilities and the limits of memory activism, especially in an era when the world continues to confront the legacies of colonialism, racism, and historical injustice.
Dr. Daniel Schumacher
Is it still possible to remember Bae Bong-gi’s life and mourn her death beyond the adversarial structure between nations?
Kim Shin Hyun-gyung
Lee Jeeheng
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
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
In 2022, as a result of Japan’s aggressive diplomacy, UNESCO’s MoW inscription rules were revised to require all documents to be submitted through national governments. Additionally, if a concerned country objects, the application is halted from entering the review process and must instead undergo a so-called “dialogue” procedure. Under these revised rules, any attempt by a victimized country to submit documents related to the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” is likely to be blocked before even reaching the review stage due to Japan’s opposition.
The history of the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” issue has challenged long-standing conservative cultural norms regarding women and sexuality in Asia by amplifying the voices of the victims. Moreover, it has contributed to the establishment of globally significant norms and values related to women’s human rights. This means that the records documenting the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” issue and related activities meet the criteria of “world significance.”
Stories of “Comfort Women” are as insightful as they are heartbreaking. In this article, the author—an Argentine scholar—traces her journey from her first encounter with survivors and reflects on how it reshaped her personal and professional life, while also following the transnational itinerary of the “Comfort Women” movement across borders.
María del Pilar Álvarez
Film researcher Hwang Miyojo sheds light on the documentary film “The Silence” produced by female director Park Su-nam, a second-generation Korean-Japanese. Director Park documented the struggle of Lee Ok-sun, who demanded that the Japanese government apologize and provide compensation, together with 14 colleagues.
Hwang Miyojo
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
Testimony and publishing activities concerning wartime sexual violence and “Comfort Women” carried out by the Association of Returnees from China (Chukiren), which atoned for their perpetrators’ actions in postwar Japanese society.
Kim Su-yong
