Survivors among Japanese Military Comfort Women lead waves of justice and peace on the 30th anniversary of Ms. Kim Hak-soon’s testimony

- 「International conference on women’s rights and peace」 on Oct. 13 and 14- 

Looking for ways to put human rights issues into practice in wartime/dispute, with focus on the issue of Japanese Military Comfort Women 

  - With the participation of scholars specializing in the issue and women’s rights activists such as Christine Chinkin, Yolanda Aguilar, and        

    Tomiyama Ichiro

Broadcast live online in Korean, English, and Japanese through the YouTube channel of the Research Institute of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery

 The  Research Institute on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery(Director Jeong Yu-jin) of The Women's Human Rights Institute of Korea (President Park Bong Jeong-suk) is holding the 2021 international conference on women’s rights and peace on Oct. 13 and 14 on the theme of “Survivors among Japanese Military Comfort Women lead waves of justice and peace” at the Kim Koo Museum & Library

About 「the Research Institute of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery (established in August, 2018)」 

 * Engaging in professional survey, research, education, and PR related to Japanese Military Comfort Women

 - (Survey/research)Survey/collection/translation/publication of the relevant materials (including records, Japanese military’s official letters and war criminals’ statements, etc.)

 - (Education) Holding of academic colloquium, development/provision of educational contents, publication of academic journals and webzines

 - (PR) Holding of international conferences and production/distribution of PR materials, pushing forward with commemorative projects

Said conference is being held to find a solution to the issue of Japanese military comfort women, which is a leading case of human rights issue under war/dispute, and look for a way to educate future generations and strengthen international unity for women’s human rights and peace.

Especially, 20-plus people including experts, researchers, educators, and human rights activists specializing in international law, women’s rights, peace education, and national security will take part on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Ms. Kim Hak-soon’s testimony on what the victims suffered under the Japanese military. 

 Said event is to be held on/offline in consideration of the current COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure attendance by many people. It will be relayed live worldwide online in Korean, English, and Japanese through the YouTube channel of the Research Institute of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery.

 Those wishing to take part need to apply no later than Oct. 12, 6:00 pm at the homepage (www.icwrp2021.com).

    *For inquiries, please contact the Conference Secretariat (icwrp2021@gmail.com)/ Tel: 02-6363-8387, 8383.

The conference(Oct. 13 - Oct. 14) will be composed of a total of four parts, and its major contents are as follows: 

On the first day (Day of Justice) of the two-day conference, the attendees will check the result of efforts made so far to find a solution to the issue of Japanese military comfort women and re-shed light on the issue from diverse perspectives such as gender, justice, and history. 

In Part 1, they will analyze the meaning of comfort women-related  court sentences made in and out of the country in connection with the presentation made by Christine Chinkin, a researcher of the Centre for Women, Peace, and Security at the London School of Economics and Political Science, who served as a judge at the Tokyo Women’s Tribunal in 2000. 

In Part 2, Prof. Kozue Akiyabashi at Doshisha Univ. and Prof. Eli Kim of the Graduate School of Civil Society and Peace Studies at Sungkonghoe Univ. will talk about the activities carried out by civic organizations. 

On the second day (Peace Day) of the conference, the attendees will check how countries have coped with wartime sexual violence and look for ways of education/research on the issue of Japanese military comfort women. 

 In Part 3, the following experts will engage in presentations and discussions on how the Allied forces, Germany, Europe, and Japan coped with said issue: Researcher Regina Muhlhauser at the Hamburg Institute for Social Research; Prof. Jeong Yong-suk at the Chuncheon National University of Education, Department of Social Studies Education; and Prof. Ichiro Tomiyama at Doshisha Univ. 

 In Part 4, the following experts will discuss how we should remember said issue and engage in the education of future generations and systematic history research lest the painful history be repeated: Mitsuko Hirai, a lecturer at Osaka University; and Song Su-yeon, a teacher at Eunhaeng High School, Gyeonggi-do.

“I hope it will serve as an occasion wherein the attendees look for specific ways to find a solution to the comfort women issue, which is a leading case of wartime human right issue, and to disseminate the issue of women’s right and peace,” Minister of Gender Equality and Family Chung Young-ai said, commenting on the conference.  

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will continue to carry out commemorative programs and strive to engage in surveys on the comfort women issue and encourage history education for future generations and in-depth discussions in the relevant areas, she added.