32 The QUEE NS Courier • november 12, 2015 for breaking news visit www.qns.com THE COMFORT WOMEN OF KOREA by DR. ARTHUR FLUG With dynamism that belies her age, 88-year-old Korean–born Ok Sun Lee stands before a group of college students WINNER 3 YEARS IN A ROW Protect your stuff. A burglary occurs about every 13 seconds. Not only does Allstate Renters Insurance protect you from theft, it also protects you from fire and vandalism. Get the quality protection you need for as low as $4 a month when added to an Allstate Auto Policy. Why wait? Contact me today! Martin Levy 718-268-1700 149395 103-20 Metropolitan Avenue Forest Hills martinlevy@allstate.com Call or stop by for a free quote. Insurance and discounts subject to terms, conditions and availability. Premium based on the national average net cost (premium less discounts) when added to a Standard Allstate Auto Policy. Savings vary based on state and coverage selected. © 2014 Allstate Insurance Company. and begins her story. “I was taken from my home at age 15 and sent to a Japanese military base in China. For the next several years I was a sex slave to the soldiers stationed there.” While we are shocked at stories in today’s news of terrorists kidnapping young girls to be sold into slavery or forced marriages, this practice has roots going back into history that still impact our Korean community. With the outbreak of World War II in Korea, the Japanese army began a roundup of what many scholars believe was approximately 180,000 young girls to serve their soldiers as comfort women. Forced to take Japanese names, these youngsters were raped as part of their initiation into their new roles and sent to “comfort stations” at military camps throughout Asia. Here they serviced the sexual needs of the Japanese soldiers until the end of the war. This practice was repeated in many of the countries occupied by Japan. Many died of beatings and disease. Others committed suicide. At the end of WWII, these women were scattered throughout Asia with few opportunities to return home. Eventually, many were able to return. For almost half a century they attempted to adjust to their surroundings, keeping secret the shame inflicted upon them. In the early 1990s a group of these women came forward and announced, “We were forced to become comfort women to the Japanese soldiers during WWII.” This announcement caused hundreds of such victims to “come out” and join a growing international group asking for justice. It was in 2011, as executive director of the Kupferberg Holocaust Center, that I was approached by the Korean America Civic Empowerment to host an exhibit dealing with this issue. Support for this effort also came from the Korean American Association of New York. I had some doubts as to the impact of hosting this program and asked to speak with one of these women. Through Skype, I interviewed Ok Sun Lee at her home in Korea. The last question I asked, “What would you want me to do with your story?” produced a riveting and most convincing answer. “Please tell others, we do not wish to be forgotten.” This is the same answer that is provided to us when we interview Holocaust survivors. The question facing us is not whether a proper apology or restitution has been made to them. Government leaders will address that. Yet we must do more than shake our heads and wring our hands but ask what we should do when such events are common in today’s news. Dr. Arthur Flug is the former executive director of the Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center and Archives at Queensborough Community College in Bayside.
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