Comfort Women: Sex Slaves
Bok-dong Kim must be the first person that I have photographed that many times. It was a great honor to photograph her. I can tell that this was the moment that I feel blessed and grateful to be a photographer.
Bok-dong Kim is a 86-year-old Comfort Women survivor. During the World War II, Japanese Imperial Army drafted or kidnapped about 200,000 women, mostly from Asia, and forced them into "Comfort Women", a forced sex slavery system by Japanese Imperial Army. Bok-dong Kim were told that she will work in a army clothing factory, but ended up in a "Comfort Station." She had to deal with upto 100 men a day. After 8 years in comfort station and coming back to Korea, she could not have a child nor a husband. While living a lonely life, in 1992, she reported heself as a comfort women victim and became a center of the movement demanding Japan for an apology and compensation. She has never been apologized nor acknolwedged. Now she began another movement: "Butterfly Fund," a fund to help women victimized sexually in war-time. Currently 61 victims survive in Korea, not counting victims in other countries.
It was diffifcult to get along with her. She was almost blind and needed assistance. She relied on her assistants and did not like strangers. For more than 20 years, she has formed a strong bond with Meehyang Yoon, the executive director of the Korean Council, who was always escorting her. Kim was anxious when she was not with Yoon. Honestly I was not be able to break through that bond and gain Kim's full trust. Kim was quiet, bold woman, hard to get closer.
Plus, since she could not see well, she did not remember me that easily. I had to remind her every time that I am the photographer.
It was at the 5th year anniversary of H.Res. 121 event, the day before her departure, when she finally remembered me. I gave her two pairs of hair pins as a present, telling her I loved that she wore hair pins in the photos of Wednesday demonstration. She did not say much, but smiled, wore it right away and kept it on throughout the event. Next day when her assistant Sunmi said "She gave you two hair pins yesterday," Kim said "No, she gave me four."
These photos cannot tell interaction. I wish I could have more time with her, not six days, but it still would have taken long to gain her trust.
As she left, she said "Please keep working on it. [Comfort Women issue]"
I said I would and I will. I don't think I will ever be objective about this issue.
Bok-dong Kim is a 86-year-old Comfort Women survivor. During the World War II, Japanese Imperial Army drafted or kidnapped about 200,000 women, mostly from Asia, and forced them into "Comfort Women", a forced sex slavery system by Japanese Imperial Army. Bok-dong Kim were told that she will work in a army clothing factory, but ended up in a "Comfort Station." She had to deal with upto 100 men a day. After 8 years in comfort station and coming back to Korea, she could not have a child nor a husband. While living a lonely life, in 1992, she reported heself as a comfort women victim and became a center of the movement demanding Japan for an apology and compensation. She has never been apologized nor acknolwedged. Now she began another movement: "Butterfly Fund," a fund to help women victimized sexually in war-time. Currently 61 victims survive in Korea, not counting victims in other countries.
It was diffifcult to get along with her. She was almost blind and needed assistance. She relied on her assistants and did not like strangers. For more than 20 years, she has formed a strong bond with Meehyang Yoon, the executive director of the Korean Council, who was always escorting her. Kim was anxious when she was not with Yoon. Honestly I was not be able to break through that bond and gain Kim's full trust. Kim was quiet, bold woman, hard to get closer.
Plus, since she could not see well, she did not remember me that easily. I had to remind her every time that I am the photographer.
It was at the 5th year anniversary of H.Res. 121 event, the day before her departure, when she finally remembered me. I gave her two pairs of hair pins as a present, telling her I loved that she wore hair pins in the photos of Wednesday demonstration. She did not say much, but smiled, wore it right away and kept it on throughout the event. Next day when her assistant Sunmi said "She gave you two hair pins yesterday," Kim said "No, she gave me four."
These photos cannot tell interaction. I wish I could have more time with her, not six days, but it still would have taken long to gain her trust.
As she left, she said "Please keep working on it. [Comfort Women issue]"
I said I would and I will. I don't think I will ever be objective about this issue.
The photo essay on Bok-dong Kim's six days in Los Angeles has been published in Korea Daily (중앙일보) on August 8, 2012, page A30,31.
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