When is the National Memorial Day for the “Comfort Women” Victims of the Japanese Army in South Korea?

The 14th is South Korea’s first national memorial day for the victims of the Japanese military’s “comfort women”. The South Korean government and people held many commemorative activities to remember the historical pain and call for justice and conscience.

On November 24 last year, the South Korean Congress passed an amendment to the "Law for Stabilizing Life Support for the Victims of the Comfort Women of the Japanese Army" and designated August 14 as the National Memorial Day for the Victims of the "Comfort Women" of the Japanese Army. On this day, the "yellow butterfly" symbolizing "comfort women" continues to appear at rallies, forums, dramas, exhibitions and other theme activities across South Korea to convey people's comfort and encouragement to the elderly victims.

On the afternoon of that day, the South Korean government held a commemorative ceremony at the "Manghyang Hill" National Cemetery in Cheonan City, Chungcheongnam-do. More than 400 people including South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Japanese "comfort women" victims, civil society organizations and related persons attended the event.

Moon Jae-in delivered a speech at the commemoration ceremony, saying that the "comfort women" issue cannot be resolved through diplomatic means. He said that only when the dignity and honor of the victims are restored and the psychological trauma is healed can the "comfort women" issue be truly solved. Only when the whole world, including Japan, deeply reflects on sexual violence against women and their human rights, "comfort women" Only then can the problem of women be solved.

According to Korean media interpretation, Moon Jae-in’s speech was intended to reiterate his opposition to the “Comfort Women” Agreement between South Korea and Japan signed in 2015, and at the same time urge Japan to sincerely apologize for the issue of “comfort women” for the Japanese military.

In the evening, night falls in Seoul. More than a thousand South Koreans gathered at the "comfort women" statue near the Japanese Embassy in South Korea. The protestors, composed of middle school students, company employees and citizen groups, held up banners with slogans such as "public apology", "compensation according to law" and "the Communist Party welcomes peace". They used candlelight demonstrations and cultural performances to express their protest to the Japanese government. .

"I hope the Japanese government will not always try to use money to settle the 'comfort women' issue, but will sincerely apologize to the elderly victims of 'comfort women'." Lee Ki-won, a high school student at Jingcheng Middle School in South Korea, was at the event People were constantly running around the site, handing out flyers to passers-by.

He said that "comfort women" were victims of war and should not be treated unfairly. One of his purposes for participating in this event is to encourage the elderly and hope that they can continue to face life bravely.

Since 2005, Kim Bang-soo, an elderly man who lives in Jeonju City, North Jeolla Province, has come to support whenever "comfort women" support groups gather to protest near the Japanese Embassy. He said: "When I think of the long-term suffering suffered by the elderly victims of 'comfort women', I feel very sorry for them. In order to let the elderly smile again, we should work together and urge the Japanese government to apologize."

"Only by treating and resolving these historical issues in the right way can Northeast Asia have peace and a future." Li Taijun, the head of the "comfort women" support group, told reporters.

He said that due to Japan’s war crimes at that time, female victims in many countries, including South Korea, are still living in pain more than 70 years later. Japan needs to sincerely reflect on its past crimes, publicly apologize and make compensation.