Comfort women statues set up for the first time in China

The Japanese comfort women statues has been erected in China. The International Committee for Joint Nomination to UNESCO International Memory of the World held an unveiled ceremony of two statues of young girls symbolizing the so-called "comfort women" at Shanghai Normal University on Saturday. The statues of Korean and Chinese comfort women have the same figures with the ones that were erected in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul in October last year. The Statue of Peace, also known as Comfort Woman Statue, is a symbol of the victims of sexual slavery by the Japanese imperial military during World War II. The statues are of Korean and Chinese girls sitting side by side.

The Japanese sexual slavery survivors Lee Yoon-soo (88) and Chen Liancun (90) also attended the event in the midst of heavy rain. While wiping the face of a statue, Lee said that the girl won’t be lonely anymore. The erection of the monuments was led by Su Zhiliang, Shanghai Normal University professor and expert on the issue of comfort women, and Chinese and Korean artists donated the group of sculptures free of charge. About 50 statues have been set up in South Korea, the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

On the same day, Chinese “comfort women” History Museum of the Shanghai Normal University held the opening ceremony. China’s first comfort women theme museum is located on the second floor of the Eastern Division Yuen building, the exhibit includes articles left by comfort women, documents and other records of compulsory mobilization of comfort women.

이유종기자 pen@donga.com