Thousands protest in Seoul, call for Japan to apologize

World Today

South Korean protestors attend a rally to demand Tokyo’s apology for forcing women into military brothels during World War II outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul on August 12, 2015. Close to 1,000 protestors had gathered outside the embassy ahead of the 70th anniversary of the end of Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula. AFP PHOTO / JUNG YEON-JE

Thousands of South Korean citizens have taken to the streets of Seoul, demanding an official apology and compensation from the Japanese government for the act of sexual slavery, known as “comfort women,” during WWII.

An estimated 200,000 women were forced into sexual servitude during WWII. More than 70 years later, victims are still demanding an apology from the Japanese government.

Thousands people have taken to the streets of Seoul, demanding an official apology and compensation from the Japanese government.

88-year-old Yi Ok-Seon showed a CCTV reporter a scar she said she got when a Japanese soldier slashed her arm with a sword seventy years ago. Yi spent three years as a “comfort woman.” When remembering the experience, Yi said the comfort stations were “slaughterhouses used to destroy people.”

Of the 238 women who registered as victims with the South Korean government, less than 50 are alive today. Among the survivors, only a few are strong enough, both physically and mentally, to voice their demands to the Japanese government.

Thousands people have taken to the streets of Seoul, demanding an official apology and compensation from the Japanese government.

Lee Mi-Hyang, Chief of the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Sexual Slavery by Japan, says the most important point is that Japan is denying its responsibility. Japan attacked the victims by making absurd remarks that it was legal, and that the women, “voluntarily chose that path to earn money.”

Thousands people have taken to the streets of Seoul, demanding an official apology and compensation from the Japanese government.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye reiterated her call to action on Monday for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to not re-write history during his upcoming statement later this week to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.

Thousands people have taken to the streets of Seoul, demanding an official apology and compensation from the Japanese government.

Park said if the issue of “comfort women” could not be resolved now, there would not be another chance given the age of the victims. Meanwhile, Japan says the issue was already resolved when Seoul and Tokyo signed the treaty on basic relations back in 1965.

The victims, now in their 80s and 90s, say they will continue to fight for an official apology and compensation, which they hope to get before they pass away.