Korean Comfort Women: Movies
Released in September 2017, this movie depicts the lived experience of Korean comfort women during World War II. The Joseon Dynasty, a former Korean kingdom, was colonized from 1910 to 1945. Korea finally gained independence from Japan on August 15, 1945, after Japan's official concession that it lost the war.
The story begins with one of the main characters, a thirteen-year-old girl named Jeong-Min, being taken away by Japanese soldiers in front of her parents, isolated in an unsanitary prison next to the Japanese army camp in China, and forced to serve as a sex slave for Japanese soldiers.
The movie is based on the true story of Il-Chul, Kang, and other women who have been willing to share their experience at the comfort station.
I Can Speak
Released in October 2017, this movie first shows an old lady and a young government official forming a friendship in a humorous manner. It later moves to the story of the old lady, a former comfort woman attending a public hearing at the US House of Representatives.
The movie is based on the true story of two Korean comfort women, Yong-Soo Lee and Gun-Ja Kim, who testified to their comfort station experience in the US House of Representatives on February 15, 2007. Their testimony was so powerful and appealing that the House of Representatives reached unanimous agreement and adopted the apology resolution for comfort women (HR121), which demands the Japanese government give an official apology. The case lasted over ten years before the apology was finally requested of the Japanese government.
Herstory
Released in June 2018, this movie sheds light on six years of the long journey of ten Korean comfort women, their advocates, and supporters of the lawsuit from 1992 to 1998. Based on a true story, the movie particularly highlights the process of establishing an organization to support Korean comfort women in Busan, South Korea; preparing for a lawsuit against the Japanese government in Shimonoseki, Japan; and finally getting the court order from Japan.
Although the Japanese court partially admitted Japanese guilt in human rights violations, they denied other issues raised by Korean comfort women. To date, comfort women, supporters, and protesters are still fighting for justice.
