▲On August 28, 2023, the club “Orchestra” from Michuhol Foreign Language High School offered an opportunity to commemorate the "International Memorial Day for Japanese Military Sexual Slaves". They played “The Korean national anthem”, “When the Day Comes”, and “Arirang March” to commemorate the comfort women. Pianos, violins, clarinet, flutes, drum, and trumpet played in harmony for the commemoration.
The Orchestra wanted to commemorate the “International Memorial Day for Japanese Military Sexual Slaves” to students. So, by reporting this article, we offer more detailed and specific information about “International Memorial Day for Japanese Military Sexual Slaves”.
What is "International Memorial Day for Japanese Military Sexual Slaves"?
Every year, August 14th is a National Day of Remembrance dedicated to raising awareness of the issue of Japanese military “sexual slaves” and commemorating the victims. August 14th marks the anniversary of the first time Kim Hak-soon, one of the comfort women, came forward and the issue came to the fore of the international community.
This was part of Kim's testimony: "I am Kim Hak-soon, who was forcibly taken as a sexual slave by the Japanese military. When I read about “Japanese Military Sexual Slaves” in the newspaper and the news, it solidified my decision that this was wrong; this must be corrected. I don’t know why they are lying, so I came out.“
History of “Japanese Military Sexual Slaves”
When the dispatch of Japanese troops to Siberia in 1918, one out of every seven divisions was disabled to venereal disease. To stem this preposterous attrition, at the time of the Manchurian Incident in September 1931, military comfort stations had become fixed and were located wherever Japanese soldiers went. For front-line garrisons, traveling comfort women were dispatched. This is when the procurement of comfort women began in earnest.
At first, comfort women were recruited through open recruitment or advertisements, etc. The tradition of comforting Japanese soldiers opened an army comfort station in Gongchang Street near Shanghai when the Sino-Japanese War in January 1938. There were 24 Japanese women, and 80 Korean women always stand by, most of Korean women from Namseon.
These comfort women were provided by prostitutes’ military connections or recruited by supply officers. Until this point, there was not forced into forceful of non-Japanese Korean virgins, but as the war escalated and demand exploded, the Japanese military finally began to use coercion to recruit comfort women. In July 1941, when the Kwantung Army was expanded from 240,000 to 750,000 troops as part of an anti-Soviet strategy, Hara, the Kwantung Army's supply officer, visited the Government-General of Korea's Office and demanded 20,000 Korean "bellflowers," and 10,000 were taken to the Kwantung Army. The forced use of comfort women was also demanded elsewhere, with the Governor General of Taiwan, the Philippines, and Indonesia continuing to use them.
The Reason Why We Should Remember the Painful History of the Past
The reason to study history is to remember our history and get lessons from the past. Learning and remembering the victims and events of the past helps us to acknowledging painful history honors those who suffered or died because of these events. It ensures they are not forgotten. Also, ignoring or forgetting painful parts of our past could lead to historical revisionism which is a field of historiography that reinterprets existing perspectives surrounding a historical event. Manipulating or distorting historical records may be problematic at the expense of truth. For these reasons, we should remember the painful history of the past.
By mentioning a brief interview with Orchestra, this article will end. "The Japanese colonial era is not a story that we can easily talk about, but the lessons we can learn from it cannot be rejected out of hand. We must not forget that history is not only about victories and successes. The painful history provides opportunities for hope and reflection of us who live today." As modern times people, we should forever remember the painful history and live with a heart that commemorate them.
Lee Nayeon (1-6)¹ | Staff Reporter
Kim Yeeun (2-5)² | Staff Reporter
1) skdus073@gmail.com
2) xo12gud@naver.com
'Article' 카테고리의 다른 글
| Interview with the host and participant of a small concert (0) | 2024.07.23 |
|---|---|
| Interview with Michuhol Foreign Language High School Graduates (0) | 2023.11.12 |
| MCH Interview with the Managers of School Clubs 2 (0) | 2023.11.12 |
| Election commissions in school and country-MCH’s Election Commission and National Election Commission (0) | 2023.11.12 |
| Justice Within A School, Is It Alive? (0) | 2023.11.12 |
