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 The Korean Council |
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An Open-Letter to President Barack Obama from the Korean Survivors |
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Re: An Open-Letter to President Barack Obama
from the Korean Survivors of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan during WWII
President Barack Obama
The United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Telephone: 202-456-1111
Fax: 202-456-2461
Dear Mr. President:
Greetings!
First of all, we would like to pay our deepest respect to you for what you have done for the world and for what you are trying to do as the 44th president of the USA.
We are a group of women from South Korea, who have survived one of the most tragic events in human history—Military Sexual Slavery of Japan during WWII. After more than half a century, the pain we experienced as women who were born in the occupied territory has never been subdued, because we were taken by Japanese military to be used as sex slaves. At that time, we were mere young girls who were in our teen years.
Under the Military Sexual Slavery of Japan, many women in many countries in Asia suffered terribly, because these women, including us, were forced to work as sex slaves for the Japanese military. We think that the pain and suffering we have gone through are not just for us, but they are a bigger problem that everyone in the world should help resolve, because some girls and women in many areas in the world today are experiencing the same pain as they happen to live in war ravaged countries where they are getting sexually assaulted on daily basis.
Because we don’t want women of today or in the next generations of Korea or anywhere in the world to have to repeat the pain we have experienced, we who are old women, in our eighties and nineties have kept on fighting for justice for us and for women like us. So everyday we are out there working to resolve the problems that have inflicted such unbearable pain on us by Japan.
In the beginning of the movement, it was not easy for us to come forward with our stories in order to let the world know about the military sexual slavery, and to demand the Japanese government to apologize for its war crimes against us and against humanity. To our delight, soon we found many people from around the world who listened to us and have been helping us with their sympathy and activism to deliver justice for us. This continued support from many people around the world encourages us to keep going on with our struggle. We are deeply touched by so many people from Korea and from the international community, including Japan, who we have never met in person. But they joined the movement for bringing in justice for us. Justice for us means that the Japanese government apologizes for the Military Sexual Slavery and compensates according to their war crimes.¡¡
During the long and hard journey we took on for justice, one of the best things that happened for us was the passage of the U.S. House Resolution 121. When the House of Representatives passed the H.R. 121 in 2007, which asks the Japanese government to apologize officially to us, we were full of courage and hope. The passage of the H.R. 121 helped us realize that our struggle was worthy and had to be continued.¡¡Soon after the passage of the H.R. 121, many countries followed in the footsteps of the U.S.A: Canada, Taiwan, the Netherlands and the European Union, and more. In recent days, also many cities in Japan and in South Korea are following suit as well.¡¡
For the last eighteen years, on every Wednesday, we have been protesting in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to demand justice from the Japanese government. So far, we have not heard from Japan. We bring out our old bodies in rain or shine to the streets,¡¡to let the world know about our suffering and Japan’s war crimes that should never be repeated in the future.¡¡We are ever ready to go anywhere in Korea or in the world for the cause, because there are many people who share our pain and are willing to fight along with us. Now we are inviting you.
What we have experienced as sex slaves is not a lie or fiction. It is our lived reality and we have personal stories to tell, to testify, so we can help change the world for better.¡¡
Sometimes, we wonder why it has to take so long for us to restore our human rights. Sixty five years have passed since WWII, but for us the war has never ended.
Mr. President,
We are writing to you, because we know that you will listen to us because our struggle is about restoring human dignity through our human rights. The whole world knows that you have experienced much pain in your life, and this is why you always listen to the poor and to the disenfranchised.¡¡As shown in many actions taken by you, you value peace and human rights more than any other political leaders we know of today. This is why we are pleading with you:¡¡three years have gone by since the H.R. 121 was passed, but so far nothing has been changed by the Japanese government. When we, the survivors started organizing, we had more than 200 survivors who came forward with their stories of the Sexual Slavery. Since then many of us have passed away with sadness and broken hearts. Now we have only 84 survivors left in South Korea (there are more survivors in other countries.)
We would like to ask of you to tell the US Congress to use the H.R. 121 for us. Can the US Congress do something about our situation since it has passed the resolution?
Still we have not given up the hope that with the passage of the H.R. 121 by the US Congress, we will be able to restore our dignity as humans, and to resolve many issues we have with the Japanese government. We trust that before we all perish, justice will be done for us.¡¡
Our dream is small and simple:¡¡to see the world free from wars and women living free from any forms of violence and we believe that this is also your dream.
Please help us, before it is too late, while we have one more survivor alive.
Help us resolve this sexual slavery issue with Japan through your Congress. Please make it sure that with passage of the H.R. 121, the US government pressures the Japanese government to resolve its Military Sexual Slavery issues.
We appreciate Mr. Mike Honda, the US House Representative for his courage and his leadership for passing the resolution. Behind the passage of the H.R. 121, there is the will of the U.S. Congress and many U.S. citizens. By remembering the H.R. 121 and the U.S. Congress taking actions based on it, the Japanese government must accept our demand in auspice of the U.S. Congress and with you behind it.
We are deeply concerned because the same tragedy is happening today wherever there is war and violence. Please help raise this issue for the world.
We wish to live in joy, without sadness and rage, and to heal our wounds by resolving our grievances against the Japanese government. We truly wish a long lasting peace for the world.
YES, WE CAN!
With full support and our love to you
Gil Won-ock, Lee Soon-duk, Ghong Jeom-yup, Gwak Ye-nam, Gweon Man-rye, Kim Kyung-soon, Kim Kyung-ae, Kim Dal-sun, Kim Bok-dong, Kim Bok-deuk, Kim Bok-sun, Kim Bun-ee, Kim Su-nee, Kim Yang-ju, Kim Yeon-hee, Kim Oh-soon, Kim Ok-gui, Kim Whe-han, Kim Yo-ji, Kim Yoon-sim, Kim Jung-bun, Kim Ju-suk, Kim Wha-sun, Park Bu-nee,¡¡Park Sun-im, Park Soon-hee, Park Pil-geun, Bae Bok-nam, Song Na-mee, Shin SSang-sim, Shim Dal-yeon, Ahn Jeom-soon, Yang Jae-sun, Woo Yeon-je, Yoo Hee-nam, Yoon Geum-rye, Yoon Soon-man, Lee Gui-nyo, Lee Gi-sun, Lee Gi-jung, Lee Du-soon, Lee Mak-dal, Lee Bok-sun, Lee Sang-hee, Lee Sun-ok, Lee Su-san, Lee Yang-geun, Lee Ok-sun, Lee Yong-nyo, Lee Yong-su, Lee Jeom-rye, Lee Hyo-soon, Lim Jeong-sun, Lim Jeong-ja, Jang Jeom-do1, Chung Mariah, Chung Bok-su, Chung Yoon-hong, Jin Hwa-soon, Choi Gap-soon, Choi Geum-sun, Choi Duk-rye, Choi Seon-sun, Choi O-gee, Ha Su-im, Ha Jeom-yeon, Ham Gyi-ran, Hwang Geum-ja, Hwang Geum-ju, Hwang Seon-sun, Ha Sang-suk, Park Seo-un, Park Cha-soon, Lee Soo-dan, Roh Soo-bok, Song Shin-do, Kim Deuk-sun, Park Yu-sun
Cc:
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State of the United States
The Honorable John Kerry, United States Senator
The Honorable Christopher Dodd, United States Senator
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein, United States Senator
The Honorable James Inhofe, United States Senator
The Honorable Russell Feingold, United States Senator
The Honorable Jim Webb, United States Senator
The Honorable Barbara Boxer, United States Senator
The Honorable Joseph Lieberman, United States Senator
The Honorable John McCain, United States Senator
The Honorable Arlen Specter, United States Senator
The Honorable Charles Schumer, United States Senator
The Honorable John Rockefeller, United States Senator
The Honorable Tom Harkin, United States Senator
The Honorable Harry Reid, United States Senator
The Honorable Ben Nelson, United States Senator
The Honorable Patrick Leahy, United States Senator
The Honorable Sam Brownback, United States Senator
The Honorable Lindsey Graham, United States Senator
The Honorable Orrin Hatch, United States Senator
The Honorable Mitch McConnell, United States Senator
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Mike Honda, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Eni F. H. Faleomavaega, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Gary Ackerman, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Jeff Flake, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Ron Paul, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Henry Waxman, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Eleanor-Holmes Norton, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable John Lewis, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Ed Markey, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable John Conyers, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Michele Bachmann, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Carolyn Maloney, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Virginia Foxx, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable John Boehner, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Cynthia Lummin, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable James Sensenbrenner, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Peter DeFaxio, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Patrick Kennedy, Member of the United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Kathy Dahlkemper, Member of the United States House of Representatives
Amnesty International USA
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
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