By Oh Hyun Woo and Kim Hwaya 

The "Statue of Peace," a replica of a girl who symbolizes women forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese imperial army, has finally found a home near Washington three years after its unveiling.

A civic group for erecting the statue in Washington on Oct. 27 held a ceremony for the monument's relocation on the front yard of a building in Annandale, Virginia.

Those attending the event included sex slave victim Gil Won-ok; Yoon Mi-hyuang, leader of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance, a civic group dedicated to a fair resolution of the issue and prevention of sexual violence in wartime; Virginia Senator Chapman Petersen and ethnic Korean residents of the state.

According to the council, the statue made in Korea arrived in Washington in November 2016. Measuring 200 cm wide, 160 cm long and 123 cm tall, the statue had been stored at a warehouse due to protests from the Japanese government and difficulty in finding a place. An ethnic Korean landlord in Annandale finally offered a home for the statue.

The civic group plans to set up a "remembrance space" at the building next to the statue to promote its history and meaning. Additionally, the place will not only promote healing and sympathy for the former sex slaves but also victims of sexual violence.

The funds for maintaining the statue will be raised through an exhibition on related materials and souvenirs sales, and a plan is in place for eventually placing the statue in downtown Washington. 

The statue in Virginia is the fifth of its kind displayed in the U.S., with the other four in the states of California, Michigan, Georgia and New York.

hyunw54@korea.kr