An hour’s journey south of Seoul is this retirement home and museum. Here live a handful of women, now in their late 70s or 80s, who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels across Asia before and during WWII. The attached museum details their plight through testimonies, artworks and videos. 'Comfort women' is the euphemism coined by the Japanese military for these women, 70% of whom were Korean. Here, they prefer the respectful term halmoni , which means grandmother.
When enslaved, most of the women were aged between 13 and 16 and had to service between 30 and 40 soldiers a day.
"We must record these things that were forced upon us." These words by Kim Hak Soon, one of the first Korean halmoni to testify about her experiences, introduces the museum exhibition, which includes a display of the artworks created by the halmoni that reflect their feelings and experiences. Video documentaries about the halmoni are screened and discussions are held about their plight and the ongoing sexual trafficking of women around the world. The overall picture painted by the guides of these frail, sometimes crotchety women is of pillars of strength who, after a lifetime of shame and sorrow, have chosen to spend their twilight years as campaigners for social justice.
It’s a heavy-going experience, but one not without a sense of hope – both at the resilience of the human spirit and the prospect for reconciliation. The greatest number of visitors to the House come from Japan and every year a Peace Road Program brings Korean and Japanese students together to help further understanding of their countries’ painfully entwined histories and how they might be better neighbours in the future.
