Brookhaven to memorialize WWII ‘Comfort Women’ with exhibit

Brookhaven’s City Council poses with members of the Atlanta Comfort Women Memorial Task Force after approving a resolution to memorialize the Comfort Women of World War II. Photo: City of Brookhaven

Brookhaven, GA, May 24, 2017 – The Post Reports – During their Tuesday, May 23rd meeting, Brookhaven City Councilmembers voted to accept the placement of a monument to memorialize the Comfort Women of World War II and further recognize the danger and injustice of human trafficking worldwide. Comfort Women were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Army in occupied territories before and during World War II.

“We are grateful for the courage, passion and commitment of the city officials of Brookhaven,” said Baik Kyu Kim, the Chair of the Atlanta Comfort Women Memorial Task Force in a release. “It is our hope that this beautiful statue will bring much healing, peace and hope.”

Councilman John Park, who the City says championed the idea, said the Comfort Women tragedy is one the largest known cases of human and sexual trafficking in the 20th Century. “The City of Brookhaven is deeply honored to be the home for the Young Girl’s Statue for Peace,” said Park. “As we remember the history of these victims of human trafficking and enslavement, we bear witness to their suffering so that these atrocities never happen again.”

Comfort Women Memorial. Image: Atlanta Comfort Women Memorial Task Force

“By establishing this memorial, we are raising awareness of the ongoing problems of sexual and human trafficking taking place in metro Atlanta and the world today,” said Brookhaven Mayor John Ernst in the release. “The City of Brookhaven is proud to join the growing list of progressive cities around the world that have already installed memorials in recognition of Comfort Women and their suffering.”

Ernst noted Brookhaven is now the first city in the state of Georgia and the deep south to publicly commit to the Comfort Women memorial, and the City encourages others to join Brookhaven in a strong, public stand against human trafficking.

The City says the Comfort Women Memorial will be placed within the next 30 days at a suitable location. “At that time, the City of Brookhaven and the Atlanta Comfort Women Memorial Task Force will organize an educational event on the history of the comfort women and the connections with other local and international cases of sex trafficking,” says the City.

The City says this exhibit, named Young Girl’s Statue for Peace, will be Brookhaven’s latest endeavor into the historic and educational awareness of the global tragedy of the human sex trade.

For more information about Atlanta Comfort Women Memorial Task Force, contact Helen Kim Ho, 404-232-5219 or helenkimho@gmail.com

Tags: Brookhaven GA The Brookhaven Post WWII Comfort Women

13 Comments on "Brookhaven to memorialize WWII ‘Comfort Women’ with exhibit"

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Sarah

Meanwhile a river runs through Brookhaven Fields yards. Focus Brookhaven Focus.

Mr. Miyagi

Don’t you mean “concentrate Daniel san!”

Heather

And basically an open sewer in parts of D4.

Maybe in ten or twenty years we’ll get a cool statue or sculpture to commemorate those that get cancer or kids that get developmental diseases from sewer shooting manholes. No need for decorative fountains- some of our manholes have already got that covered.

Kim

This is a worthy endeavor and one that reflects well on the community. A thoughtful decision that takes nothing other than goodwill and broadmindedness. It prevents nor displaces any effort or any thing.

May the souls of two hundred thousand tortured women and girls watch over our communities daughters forever. Ameen.

Dave

If we keep this up we are going to need a huge yard in front of our forthcoming municipal complex to house all of our city tributes and memorials. We can call it Brookhaven’s Memorial and Tribute Park with a statue of J. Max Davis at the entrance. Somewhere along the way there needs to be a statue of Bates on a golf cart with a beer in his hand. We are becoming such a world city. Many were expecting we would just become a city for Brookhaven residents and help us integrate and coordinate with other area governments for… Read more »

Paul Tribble

What an interesting and somewhat surprising action from the city of Brookhaven. I believe this reflects the rich ethnic diversity of the city as well as a desire for justice for people affected by this sad episode of history, especially those living in China, Korea, the Philippines, and other areas of Japanese domination during WW2.

Hunter Burke

How can you be surprised? Councilperson John Park has his own agenda, a brand new park for a backyard, a higher status within the Korean groups he belongs to, currently traveling the world. It pays to be Mayor Ernst’s friend & yes man.

RcKl

Ms. Soon Mee Kim, a member of the group to erect the statue, insists “.. the atrocities suffered by the 200,000 girls and women who were trafficked and sexually enslaved during World War II.” But she and Ms. Helen Kim Ho, another member, couldn’t show the rational explanation to the questioned incomprehensibility in their assertion. ( see the Comments of the article ‘Commentary: Rejection of “Comfort Women” memorial should make us all uncomfortable’, Atlanta Magazine (web site), Mar.8, 2017 ) Imagine if some old Japanese-Americans testified and insisted 10,000 were physically abused or killed in the internment by the U.S.… Read more »

Memoirs of a Geisha

Rckl – You should read the first three chapters of “This Kind of War” by TJ Fehrenbach. Best book by far I’ve read about the Korean War (even better than David Halberstam’s last book “The Coldest Winter.”) What makes it great is the first three-four chapters where Fehrenbach details the history of Japan’s “annexation” of Korea starting with the rape and murder of the Korean queen by Japanese soldiers in the late 19th century, then a forced treaty in 1905 (after Japanese spies reported that the Korean monarch had sent a letter to Theodore Roosevelt asking for US help; Japan… Read more »

Question: Are there former “comfort women” or there descendants currently living in Brookhaven?

Saul

The best place for the Comfort Women Memorial would have been at the NCCHR. So what’s going on here? Political correctness whitewashing history? We have a little bit of historical whitewashing of our own going on now too in the South. What’s more offensive? History itself or the whitewashing of history by political correctness? If you want to see political correctness at work, go to Japan and see how their historical WWII memorials, exhibits and sites address the role of the Japanese (not to mention ours) in WWII. Talk about politically correct whitewash! Then we have political correctness in Brookhaven… Read more »

Ellen

There’s no reason to restrict the location of memorials that acknowledge civil rights violations. I highly doubt that if you were one of the women impacted by this that you would consider this to be “historical whitewashing” of history. What a cynical and offensive post.

Tom Reilly

Bravo to the City of Brookhaven!! Every community needs a past, a present, and a future. Recognizing our past helps us better prepare for both our present and our future. Speaking as a Vietnam War veteran, I would hope to see more of this type of recognition in our city.