Press Conference by KIM Byung-heon, Director of the Korean History Textbook
Research Institute, at Demonstration for Removal of the Comfort Woman Statue
https://youtu.be/ZnWorSfhGs0?t=859
Anti-Japan Statue Removal Demonstration Series (Part 12) Tuesday, May 15, 2020
Emergency Press Conference for Inquiring into the Fact of the Comfort Woman
Statue in front of the (Former) Embassy of Japan in Korea
by KIM Byung-heon, Director of the Korean History Textbook Research Institute(Address)
As I delve into the situation concerning Ms. LEE Yong-soo,
an issue concerning finances is involved
and various other regrettable things as well
but this misses the core of the problem.
What I mean is that it misses the essential point.
What is the essential point?
The essential point is that both the ruling party and the opposition
basically believethat comfort women were victims of Japanese imperialism.
However, this is obviously
a lie.
These comfort women were neither victims of Japanese imperialism
nor victims of the Japanese army.
When there is a victim, there is always a perpetrator
but was the perpetrator the Japanese army? Or Japanese imperialism?
Absurd!
The victims were women
who were born, in those days in a poverty stricken country called Korea
1and sold by their own parents.
Ms. KIM Hak-sun, the first of those who came out as a comfort woman,
was sold for 40 won.
To whom? A Korean human trafficker.
How much was KIL Won-ok, for whom the KIL Won-ok Peace Award wasnamed, sold for?
Twenty won.
If they were sold, who were the buyers? Korean Human traffickers.
These human traffickers bought womenfor 20 won or 40 won
and resold them.
When they were resold, other buyers resold themagain and again,
their pricerising enormously--100 won, 200 won
and even 2000 won or 5000 won.
And the point is that these women
never knew how much they were sold for.
Then, they were taken away.
By whom?
In the end, these women were deprived of their freedom
by owners of houses of prostitution.
And these women were taken to brothels in various parts of the country
and, if business within Korea was difficult,they were taken to faraway battlefields.
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There was no reason for the Japanese army
to have dragged Korean women along.
Why not? Because prostitute owners took these women anywhere
so as long as it was profitable.
The Japanese soldiers receive regular pay.
For prostitute owners,
Japanese soldiers are their best customers.
That is why they go anywhere:
Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia…you name it.
Therefore, those behind the comfort women were not
the Japanese army or Japanese imperialism
but destitute Korean parents, human traffickers and prostitute owners.
Now, if these women need to blame someone,
they should note the fact that they were born in poverty-stricken Korea.
In this impoverished country, it was impossible
to protect people.
They should be angry at the fact that they were born a poor family.
Needy parents were unable to care for their children
and sold them like commodities.
Without reflecting of our shameful history
why are we proud of erecting comfort woman statutes
all over the world?
Is a comfort woman an embodiment of justice?
How can a comfort woman be an apostle of peace?

3What we are doing now
is bringing international shame on ourselves.
Those without discretion or good sense
are saying things that are disgraceful!
They do not even understandthe comfort women! They must have a good understandingof the issue before they open their mouths!
That’s all for now.

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