Opening speech
Chair of Board, The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance
for
the
Issues
of
Military Sexual Slavery by Japan Lee Na-Young (Sociology Professor, Chung-ang University)
August 14th marks the 30th anniversary of Japanese military sexual slavery victimsurvivor Kim Hak-soon’s public testimony. It is an honor to be able to hold an international conference celebrating the day. Kim Hak-soon's courageous testimony contributed to restoring the honor and dignity of the victims by informing the world of the historical truth and inspiring victims around the world to come forward. It also urged the international society to recognize wartime sexual violence as a universal women’s rights issue and inspired civic movements to resolve the issue. Through the transnational civic movement propelled by Kim Hak-soon’s public testimony, the international society has created new international human rights norms and rewritten global human rights history from the perspectives of women. 30 years from then, the Japanese government continues to avoid legal responsibility and systematically remove Statues of Peace. The expansion of historical denialism is also making it difficult to achieve a just resolution of the Japanese military sexual slavery issue. Given these circumstances, it is very important for us to discuss how to remember and record the testimonies of victims and spread and inherit their meanings today. The international conference today has been organized to reflect on the legacy of Kim Hak-soon and discuss the meaning of victim-survivor activism, which has raised awareness of and fought for truth of the Japanese military sexual slavery issue. The four panels include not only international experts such as Professor Chung Chin-sung, Yang Ching-ja of Japan, reporter Uemura Takashi, Professor Kim Pu-ja, Professors Yang Hyun-ah and Kang Sung192
