Busan City Hosts the 6th Memorial Event for Japanese Military Comfort Women Victims Day

2 PM on the 14th, Commemorative Event at Cinema Center Small Theater

2 PM on the 10th, Commemorative Forum at Eurasia Platform

Busan City and the Busan Women’s Association Federation (Representative Seok Young-mi) will hold the “2023 6th Annual Japanese Military Comfort Women Victims Memorial Day Event ‘Like a Rock’” on the 14th at 2 p.m. at the Small Theater of the Busan Cinema Center.

Commemorative Event Web Poster.

This event is held to raise awareness of the Japanese military ‘comfort women’ issue and to honor the victims on the occasion of the Memorial Day, which was established as a national memorial day.

On August 14, 1991, the late grandmother Kim Hak-soon, a victim of the ‘comfort women’ system, was the first to publicly testify about her victimization. Later, in 2012, the Asian Solidarity Conference declared this day as the World Japanese Military Comfort Women Victims Memorial Day to seek resolution of the issue.

The government designated this Memorial Day as a national holiday in December 2017, and Busan City has held commemorative events annually since 2018, marking this year as the 6th anniversary.

Currently, there are a total of nine surviving victims of the Japanese military ‘comfort women’ nationwide, and there have been no surviving victims residing in Busan since August 2020.

The event will proceed in the following order: ▲Part 1: Memorial ceremony and performance ▲Part 2: Film screening (‘Softly’ screening, followed by a talk with the director) ▲Side events (commemorative exhibition, etc.).

▲In Part 1, ‘Memorial Ceremony and Performance,’ the memorial ceremony will be held along with performances by the dance team ‘Killa Monkeys’ and the singing group ‘Brave Sisters,’ who will present dances and songs honoring the victims of the Japanese military ‘comfort women’ system.

▲In Part 2, ‘Film Screening,’ the documentary film ‘Softly,’ which depicts the life of grandmother Kim Soon-ak, a victim of the Japanese military ‘comfort women,’ will be screened, followed by a Q&A session with the director (Park Moon-chil) and cast members.

▲Side events include a ‘Commemorative Exhibition’ and a ‘Commemorative Forum.’ The exhibition, themed ‘Life Stories of Comfort Women Victims in the Busan Area,’ will be held from 1 p.m. on August 14 in the 6th-floor lobby of the Busan Cinema Center, featuring a photo zone and citizen participation events. The forum, themed ‘Historical Justice of the Japanese Military Comfort Women Issue and Regional Exploration,’ will take place on the 10th at 2 p.m. in Room 109 of the Eurasia Platform.

As this is a meaningful event to recognize the issue of Japanese military ‘comfort women’ victims and honor them, all citizens can participate free of charge.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun stated, “Through this Memorial Day event, I hope citizens deeply empathize with the pain of the Japanese military ‘comfort women’ victims and remember their courage and voices, providing an opportunity to understand the importance of correct historical awareness and human rights.”