FAQ for
Gwi-hyang (2016) More at IMDbPro »

No. It's a drama and fictional entertainment story inspired by the existing testimony.

To think about the theme, it's unavoidable that watchers may feel political message from this movie. The movie depicts the Japanese military did abduction and atrocity systematically. But its authenticity is not clear and still under discussion due to lack of objective/verifiable evidence. (On the other hand, the existence of "comfort women" is already proved.) The movie was inspired by the testimony of the victim, but the story is not the one that trace the testimony. For example, she didn't testify "many comfort women were burned and killed". The director said he wanted to make the "cultural evidence" by this movie. (February 4, 2016)

It's not wise to believe all of the movie. It's like you would have believed WMD in Iraq before the Iraq war. Remember that, at that time, the U.S. politicians said "We have clear evidence, but we cannot show that." On the other hand, it's a curious(in a positive meaning) movie as a trigger to make people have interest in the "comfort women" problem.

Yes. The movie was inspired by one painting.http://www.pdjournal.com/news/photo/201601/57484_51667_1718.jpg The 'Girls Being Abducted and Burned(Kang il-cul, 2001)' is painted by the survivor during trauma & art therapy.http://youtu.be/XPMwfoEGcOQ

The director said "The most upsetting thing I heard a lot is 'no evidence'. In fact, there's a lot of evidence. But survivor testimonies are not accepted as evidence, so I decide to film the story as 'cultural evidence'."(February 4, 2016. Megabox, Seoul)

This FAQ is under discussion. see "Discuss".

No it doesn't.

Some parts reproduce her testimony. Other parts were not testified by her but created.

For example, it is one of the major episode that "many comfort women were burned and killed as a punishment for an attempt to run away". But there is no record Ms. Kang Il-chul testified that. The Japanese military tried to kill women in order to erase evidence in this movie. But there is no record she testified that.

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It's not clear.

It was not proved by objective/verifiable/concrete record(primary source as evidence). It was not proved to be error nor fake.

For example ; She has lived in China from 1943 to 2000. But even after the WW2, no one testified nor left the record about the abduction/missing of her. Her parents, brothers, relatives, neighbors, teachers, town offices,.... never did. ( Incidentally, it's the same for all other former "comfort women". There never found the witnesses/record of the abduction/missing of them. The testimony by the victims themselves only exist. )

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Some countries, mainly South Korea, insist that Japan committed atrocity as; 'At the time of WW2, mainly in the Korean Peninsula, 200,000 women were abducted by the Japanese military and forced to be sex slaves. Japan has committed extremely big crime against humanity.' The point of their insistence is that the upper echelons of Japan systematically did that on such a large scale. On the other hand, Japanese government denies that.

Many people have expressed various truth they believe from various standpoints. It'll be interesting to search materials ( books, statements, description in the Internet, etc.) and find out the truth you believe.

-- Assertion of both sides --

Standing to South Korean side;

- Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. Economic and Social Council, UN January 4, 1996. http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=E/CN.4/1996/53/Add.1

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2015-08/12/content_21572335.htm - Japanese Military's "Comfort Women" System. Larry Niksch April 3, 2007.

- United States House of Representatives House Resolution 121 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives_House_Resolution_121

- Open Letter in Support of Historians in Japan UPDATED http://www.japanfocus.org/events/view/252 (eliminated)

- Comfort Woman - Wianbu www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPJPC0S5bxk

- "Herstory" Comfort Women Animation - English www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CmWdrlv3fI

- "Comfort Women's Interview" - English Subtitle http://youtu.be/BAKT6lZPT4E

- "New comfort women evidence" - http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2015-08/12/content_21572335.htm

Standing to Japanese side;

- in 6 seconds, Understanding "comfort women" problem vine.co/v/iXPAlUEqtWw (Vine) ( with a fictional example related to the Internment of Japanese Americans at WW2 )

- Points in the dispute at a glance, "comfort women" sites.google.com/site/olnatidy/astboacn

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