The first ‘Comfort Women Memorial Monument’ was built in Palisades Park, New Jersey, in the U.S. The builders visited CWNU on April 15. Invited were Jason Kim, Deputy Mayor of Palisades Park, Lee Jongcheol, Chairman of Palisades Park, and Kim Yangju and Kim Gyeongae, two survivors of ‘sex slavery’. The discussion got started with a statement of purpose for the monument in Palisades Park. “At this time, all the people in the world know about the Holocaust of the Second World War in detail. Every textbook includes this travesty, and it is well-known. But the comfort women issue between Korea and Japan is an untold story,” Jason Kim said. He added, “I don’t understand why these events are accepted by people in different ways. That is why I decided to voice this issue.” He implored young men to take initiative in stopping history from repeating itself, saying, “I want our young generation to change their feeling from sympathy to empathy. The former means simply feeling compassion, and the latter means transforming it into action.” The President of CWNU, Lee Changyu, said, “We should all take an interest in human rights violations, and never let acts against humanity like sex slavery happen again.” Lee Gyeonghee, chairman of the Comfort Women Monument Committee in Changwon, gave testimony on behalf of two victims, Kim Gyeongae and Kim Yangju, who were in poor health. “Kim Gyeongae, forced to become a sex slave, lost her hearing owing to the sound of bombing by planes during the War, and she has lived without the ability to hear for about 60 years. She ran away to her aunt’s house after hearing a rumor about enforced sex slaves, to avoid capture by Japanese forces. But she was captured at her aunt’s,” said Lee. At the moment, Kim Gyeongae lives alone in a single room in Changwon, and often goes to social work centers because she has no place to go. Moreover, there are eight more victims living in Tongyeong, Namhae, Yangsan, and Changwon who couldn’t attend this meeting due to health problems. Lee Jongcheol, Chairman of Palisades Park, told everyone, “We have no time. We must receive compensation quickly. Our committee is fighting for both the East Sea Bill and Dokdo against Japan. I’m confident that we will win.”Seong Jae-ho -
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Shrinkflation, Consumer Deception
