The Korean Council
154 admin 2009-06-12 1150
Weekly News/April 20-26, 2009

The Korean Council’s Weekly News
In other news:
Our office is moving out at the end of May. Our building at Seo-dae-moon is undergoing renovation, so we are sadly parting with our home and settling down at a new home at Jongno 5-ga. After completing the move and reorganizing, we will gladly invite all our supporters. Please come visit!

4/20-26 155th
4/20:
1.¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡Sung-gong-hoe University students’ visit to the “Mini-War & Women’s Human Rights Museum”: Thirty seven students from Sung-gong-hoe University, accompanied by Professor Lee Sook Jin, visited the Mini-War & Women’s Human Rights Museum this afternoon. The students packed into the small museum and learned about the Council’s activity and the ‘comfort women’ issue. We watched the educational video “We can never forget, never” and discussed the present state of the survivors and activism on the issue. We completed the session in one short hour and took a commemorative photo.
4/21:
1.¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡Once again, Prime Minister Aso attempts to gain positive feedback from the Japanese people through acts not becoming of a Prime Minister: Prime Minister Aso sent a bouquet, a congratulatory gift, by the name “The Cabinet position of the Prime Minister” to the Yaskuni Spring great religious ceremony, a four-day long event starting today (April 21st). The Korean and Chinese governments have expressed regret at this gesture… Time after time, Japan consistently creates conflict, the neighboring countries who suffered as the victims of Japan’s aggressive and invasive war protest this conflict; then after some time goes by, the Japanese government again creates conflict and the victimized countries protest… How this problem remains festering in the same place and ceases to reach a solution cannot get more ridiculous. Why is this? Why are the governments refusing to find a solution and instead consuming precious time? The reason, as stated by the South Korean Foreign Policy Ministry, is “to avoid a wasteful dispute…?” From our viewpoint, it is the Korea-Japan Relation that is truly wasteful.¡¡
2.¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡Decision to convene to wrap-up and evaluate the constitutional public hearing: Because the hearing of the ‘comfort women’ testimonials were denied at the 1st Constitutional Public Hearing (April 9th), we consulted with lawyer, Lee Suk Tae, and have decided to prepare a document that fully presents our point of view before the final decision is made by the court. The discussion on this document will be held in the Education Office of our office, on May 15th (Friday) at 6 PM. The forum order will be as follows:
-A wrap-up and evaluation of the hearing on 4/9
-The presentation and discussion on the document that will be presented to the Constitutional Court
1. The final document that is to be presented to the Korean Constitutional Court (Presenter: Lawyer Kim Jin)
2. A substitute to the witness statement (Presenter: Professor Kim Chang Rok)
3. An issue that arose during the hearing: contradictions in international law (Presenter: Professor Jo Si Hyun)
4. An issue that arose during the hearing: the Korean government’s counteraction, etc (Presenter: Representative Yoon Mi Hyang)
The procedure of the discussion will go as follows: We will listen to the primary presentation, proceed in discussion, and include the discussed information in the document that is to be presented to the Constitutional Court.

4/22:
1.¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡The presentation of the denunciation statement about Prime Minister Aso’s tributary offering to the Yaskuni Shrine: has presented a denunciatory statement related to Prime Minister Aso’s tributary offering to the Yaskuni Shrine. The Yaskuni Shrine is a symbol of colonialism and aggressive policy.
2.¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡862nd Wednesday Demonstration, led by the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center: The sky cleared up. The blinding sunlight poured down. The wind blew harshly, but the sun’s warmth overcame the wind’s coldness. Bathed in sunlight, the 862nd Wednesday Demonstration took place. In the midst of Prime Minister Aso publicly presenting a ceremonial gift to the Yaskuni Shrine and Japanese Congressmen lining up to worship at the Yaskuni Shrine, the yet unanswered 862nd Wednesday Demonstration opened again, interpreting the sunlight shining through the thickness of the clouds as a symbol of hope.
As any other day, the Halmonis sat in the very front row, and in the back stood the members of the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, Mapo General Social Welfare Center, the grandmas who are students of the “Daisy” class at the 가나다라-Korean Language Class, the nuns at the Christian Education Nun’s Association, the Women’s Korean Basketball League athlete and also the publicity chair for the War and Women’s Human Rights Museum Jun Ju Won, residents of the Japanese city Kobe, and volunteers.
Today, Park Ok-Sun, Kim Sun-Ok, Kang Il-Chool, Bae Choon-Hee, Lee Ok-Sun Halmonis came from the House of Sharing, and Lee Soon Duk, Lee Yong Soo, and Kil Won Ok Halmonis came from the ‘Woorijip’. Their voices rang out strongly. Though they must have been tired, they wore smiles on their faces and cheered on all the attendees.
One of the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center’s members presided the Demonstration, and we sang “Like a Rock.” “Let us live like a rock…; the Rock lodged deep into the Earth stands firmly… Let us not yield to despair, but in suffering, learn about ourselves and live like rocks that will become the cornerstone of a free world.” The emcee’s microphone was handed over to Lee Yong Soo Halmoni, and we continued to sing…
Even as the number of Wednesday Demonstrations increases one by one, the Japanese Government remains unchanging. Its politicians are worshipping at the Yaskuni Shrine, while the Asian-Pacific victims who were sacrificed through Japan’s war crimes despair at when Japan will change. But, the “comfort women” have confidence. Through the continuous Wednesday Demonstrations, meetings with the children, the young adults, the adults; as long as this many people are working together…
Embracing the hope that one day there will be victory, we left the Japanese Embassy. Until the 863rd Wednesday Demonstration…

4/25
3.International Trade Union Confederation included the ‘comfort women’ issue in the preliminary agenda for International Labour Conference : The international cooperation bureau director of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions Lee In-Duk departed from Korea on Saturday to participate in an International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) meeting. The meeting’s purpose was to discuss the agenda that will be deliberated on during the ILO’s Conference in June.
During last 10 years, it is failed that the Military Sexual Slavery by Japan issue selected to be ILC’s agenda as a violation of ILO Convention No.29.
Director Lee informed us that the respective trade union representatives from Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, and Indonesia expressed strong support and that, due to this support, the issue was included as one of forty items on the ITUC’s preliminary agenda. The challenge will be ensuring that the issue is included in the final 25 after 15 are rejected during the ILC’s deliberation. For this reason, the Korean Council is asking for support and collaboration from each country’s labor and civic organizations.
3.¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡Assembly held in Osaka, Japan: Our staff Yang No-Ja attended the “comfort women” assembly held in Osaka, Japan. One hundred fifty people attended the assembly on Friday April 24th in Osaka, one hundred attended on Saturday April 25th in Amagasaki, and one hundred attended on Sunday April 26th Suitasi. Staff Yang No-Ja informed the audience recent situation in activism and the survivors in Korea. Yang No-Ja attended alone without Gil Won-Ok Halmoni, who was supposed to attend but could not due to poor health. She informed us that this unfortunate substation only made participants feel the urgency of the situation. She also said that many people are sharing the Halmonis’ stories through song, theater and are also studying to figure out a solution to this issue.

4/28
1.¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡Preparing to attend the ILO Conference: Preparation for attendance in the ILC held in Geneva in June with the Korean Trade Union and Korean Confederation of Trade Unions is well underway. If the “comfort women” issue is chosen as a violation of ILO Convention No.29 during the ILC, the Korean Council and a survivor are planning to participate and comment directly, and we are hoping that the fruition to more than 10 years of work will be a positive one. .