With only 5 living survivors left, fight for justice for Korea’s ‘comfort women’ goes on

Seoul's rainy evening witnessed a gathering of around 200 Koreans on Friday, united to honor the victims of Japan's World War II military "comfort women" system. Adorned in yellow and purple butterfly ribbons, they rallied for peace and justice. This 14th International Memorial Day for the Japanese Military "Comfort Women" bore slogans such as "Storming peace: The power of their resilience and our eager energy!"

Participants and survivors demanded an official apology and reparations from Japan. The rally's return this year without a barricade, removed in May, marked a significant shift since 2020 when concerns of defilement by far-right groups prompted its installation. One of the last five surviving Korean survivors, 98-year-old Lee Yong-soo, expressed gratitude in a video, emphasizing the importance of remembering and never forgetting the atrocities endured.

Fellow survivor Park Pil-geun, also 98, emphasized the ongoing fight for reparations and apologies from Japan. With only five registered living survivors remaining, concerns grow about preserving history as the last victims age. Han Kyung-hee, secretary general of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, urged collective action against discrimination and hate, envisioning a wind of peace that combats such behavior.

Ralliers called for Japan to acknowledge war crimes, provide reparations, halt historical revisionism, and cease militarization, while the Korean government urged for pressure on Japan to fulfill its responsibilities and foster a world free of violence and hate.