The “Comfort Women” Issue: Reconciliation between Japan and South Korea

On Monday December 28, Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers met in Seoul to reconcile on the long-standing issue of “comfort women” – a euphemism used for the approximately 200,000 women, many of whom were Korean, forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.

The legacy of Japan’s atrocities has caused an enduring psychological wound not only for the 46 surviving “comfort women” in South Korea, but for the entire nation. The collective memory of this event in South Korea has been the main source of antagonism between the two countries. The agreement reached to “finally and irreversibly” resolve the matter has therefore been described as “epoch-making” by Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

This latest attempt to repair relations is critical and far-reaching, due to the urgency for a strong alliance in the increasingly tense and insecure region of East Asia. The need for an improved regional partnership has deepened due to the rising power of China and the North Korean nuclear threat. With 25,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea and about 50,000 stationed in Japan, the deal has also been praised by the U.S. government for “improv[ing] relations between two of the United States’ most important allies.”

At Monday’s meeting in Seoul, Mr. Kishida issued a formal apology on behalf of the Japanese government in an effort to demonstrate sincerity and full acceptance of responsibility. The agreement also includes 1 billion yen as compensation for the victims, which will be sent to a fund administered by the South Korean government. The fund will provide “support” for the surviving elderly women and subsidize “projects for recovering the honour and dignity and healing the psychological wounds.” South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se agreed to ease hostility towards Japan if these promises are fulfilled, which includes refraining from criticizing each other on the matter. He is also considering the removal of a controversial statue that has stood outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul for the past five years.

This bronze statue, which portrays a barefoot teenage girl sitting anxiously while awaiting her fate, was erected in 2011 by activists during a Wednesday Demonstration. It has become a symbol of the women’s continuous struggle to attain justice from the Japanese government and Japan has even stated that the statue should be removed, since it is a symbol of South Korea’s unwillingness to resolve the issue as well as an affront to Japan’s national dignity. Many South Koreans however believe “the statue should be there forever to remember the past.”

It is unknown whether the optimistic agreement between the diplomats on Monday will translate into genuine reconciliation on the ground. Despite the official rapprochement, the presence of the statue, if it remains, may come to represent the lingering unresolved tensions between the two countries. Even if the statue is removed, can such deep and historic wounds ever truly be healed?

Julie S.

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