Jul 15, 2014
Asia
Claims South Korea Provided Sex Slaves for U.S. Troops Go to Court
- Kim Sook-ja, 70, cries whilst recalling her life as a prostitute serving U.S. military personnel stationed in South Korea, in Pyeongtaek July 11, 2014. On June 25, sixty-four years after the Korean War broke out, 122 surviving comfort women, as they were called, filed a lawsuit against their government to reclaim, they say, human dignity and proper compensation. Ms. Kim and others claim the South Korean government trained them and worked with pimps to run a sex trade through the 1960s and 1970s for U.S. troops, encouraged women to work as prostitutes and violated their human rights.
- Reuters
In recent years, Seoul has often raised the case of “comfort women”, claiming Tokyo hasn’t fully compensated the alleged sex slaves to the imperial Japanese military during the occupation of the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century.
But some in South Korea say Seoul has a similar problem and must make amends to women the state allegedly forced to provide sexual services for U.S. troops since the end of Korean War.
In a landmark case, more than a hundred women recently filed a lawsuit to a Seoul court seeking compensation from the government. The 122 women say the system—also referred to as “comfort women” on state documents seen by Korea Real Time—was supervised by the U.S. forces and the South Korean government.
Saewoomter, a human rights group representing the women, says the stories of their recruitment vary. Driven by postwar poverty, most sought a job without knowing what it entailed, while some were allegedly abducted by gangsters and sold to pimps, the group says. Once they were in, South Korean authorities blocked them from leaving, according to activists.
A spokeswoman for South Korea’s Gender Equality Ministry declined to comment because the matter was before the courts.
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense referred the matter to the U.S. forces stationed in South Korea, but said its policy was that it “opposes prostitution, forced labor and any related activities, such as commercial sex acts/sex trafficking, debt bondage, forced labor and involuntary servitude that may contribute to trafficking in persons and which are inherently harmful and dehumanizing.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Forces Korea said it had “zero tolerance for prostitution and human trafficking,” saying these acts were “incompatible with our military core values,” but referred the matter to the South Korean government.
The U.S. outlawed prostitution in South Korea during its interim rule in the years following the end of World War II. However, it has flourished into an industry that generates 7 trillion won ($6.86 billion), according to the Gender Equality Ministry’s 2010 report. It isn’t unusual to see poorly disguised advertisements for brothel-like facilities, especially near business districts, bus terminals, train stations and military compounds.
The women sent to the U.S. military were often considered by mainstream society among the lowest in social standing, living in so-called “camp towns” near bases. Many of the now-elderly women remain ostracized and still live near the camp towns or in shelters, human rights activists say. There is no publicly available official data on their number, but activists estimate there were thousands.
Shin Young-suk, director of Saewoomter, one of the four groups representing the women, said the U.S. appeared to have requested the system’s creation, citing newspaper articles from the time.
The women also allege that the South Korean government sanctioned special zones and helped run the operation through a dummy association, and that police and pimps colluded in preventing escapes.
Cho Myung-ja, a 76-year-old former camp-town woman, told Reuters that she and others were tested twice a week and were quarantined in an isolated cell if they failed a venereal disease check.
The women claim they had to attend government-led disciplinary sessions where they were called “patriots” for serving the country and were told to avoid causing trouble with Americans.
“I haven’t met one [woman] who didn’t have scars from at least one suicide attempt,” said Ms. Shin.
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I hope all the comments written on this board was from a research, not some ultranationalists bashing the history for no reason.
Yes. it is true that Korean government somehow involved in this matter. But if you read the article Jeyup S. Kwaak wrote, it was about the lawsuit against the government and all who’s involved.
I have researched the materials to see what’s really marked on the history. During the war, if you were engaged in a warfare, there’s a lot disgusting things happens under the name of government and it’s people.
What Ms.Choi and other comfort women wants is the clarification of who exactly are involved and seeking the punishment who deserves it.
There is rotten part of course in a country who made this possible. But is it a national character? no. Is it approved by entire country? NO. That’s why these poor ladies keep protesting to look for no further pains in any other country. It’s preposterous saying shut up just because her own government is involved. If you don’t acknowledge the human rights i have nothing to say, but it was and is inhumane behavior to say they are prostitute or the country sells the sexuality. Please. let’s keep the discussion in the sane tune.
And in addition to, although there are no evidence to clarify Japan troops forced such women to work as comfort woman, it was clarified by Korean president’s signature on the document, that Korea Gov. did positively administrate those comfort woman as the sex slaves according to US forces’ request.
US force in South Korea and Korean Gov. made them sex slaves surely, even after the war at Korean peninsula, 1950-1953. Although NY Times wrote in January, 2009, US and Korean Gov. have ignored the cases, and Korean Gov. still claiming Japan. Why ? Definitely, both Korea and US have no right to say anything to Japan at present, which mostly contributing the peace of world.
US force in South Korea and Korean Gov. made them sex slaves surely, after the war at Korean peninsula, 1950-1953. Although NY Times wrote in January, 2009, US and Korean Gov. have ignored the cases, and Korean Gov. still claiming Japan. Why ? Definitely, both Korea and US have no right to say anything to Japan at present, which mostly contributing the peace of world. And in addition to, although there are no evidence to clarify Japan troops forced such women to work as comfort woman, it was clarified by Korean president’s signature on the document, that Korea Gov. did positively administrate those comfort woman as the sex slaves according to US forces’ request.
Japan’s comfort women is if this matters to you, this matter also should be questioned. And if not, unfair, it’s hypocrisy.