The World On arirang

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With all its glitz and glamour, Broadway has long been the place for creative dreamers hoping for a shot at stardom.
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Just a 20-minute drive north, in Harlem, another group of young dreamers is hard at work, rehearsing for the musical "Comfort Women."
Through music and movement, they tell the tragic story of the hundreds of women who were victims of Japan's wartime program of sexual enslavement.
The director is a Korean college student named Dimo Kim, who created the musical to raise awareness about this lesser-known chapter in Korean history.
But first he had to ensure his 53 cast members knew the history, too.

"I didn't know about it before. I did research on it and I was very, very devastated not knowing this had happened."

Regardless of their nationality, the actors say getting the message out about the comfort women is their top priority.

"As a Japanese and as a Japanese-American, I think it's even more important to be involved so that people can see that there is sentiment across the board for people to recognize this event in history."

A recent meeting with a former sex slave in Washington, D.C., strengthened their sense of purpose.

"I could just feel her energy, her strength, her perseverance. Her heartache as well. And I'm definitely going to take all of that with me into the show and hope to do everything that she's fought for up to now."

The director made clear that his intention is not to point fingers at Japan, but to build momentum for reconciliation between the two countries.

"What I'm trying to say to the audience is, these are what happened, these are what our new generations have to confront, and then, if we compromise by ourselves, then we can move forward to the future."

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"The musical 'Comfort Women' will open at New York's biggest off-Broadway theater, Saint Clement's, for a two-week run on July 31st. The team's next goal will be bringing the show to Broadway.
Hwang Sung-hee, Arirang News, New York."